Italians consider making mRNA jab

The Italian government has reportedly held talks with several pharmaceutical companies about starting production of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting a move away from the previously-favored adenovirus-based vaccines produced by AstraZeneca and Johnson &Johnson, which have been linked to cases of blood clotting.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website says an mRNA shot is one that teaches human cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response inside the body.

German biotech company CureVac has been working on developing such a vaccine and, the Financial Times said, hopes it could be approved for use in the European Union by June.

Swiss company Novartis and Italy's ReiThera are two of the manufacturers that would be keen to produce the CureVac vaccine, and were in preliminary talks with officials in Rome.

The chief executive of United States-based Moderna is also reported to have spoken directly to Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The Oxford University-Astra-Zeneca vaccine was one of the first available, but there have been high-profile difficulties with supply, followed by concerns over reports of blood clots occurring in some patients who have received the jab, leading to it falling out of favor.

There have also been similar concerns about the later J&J vaccine, produced in the US, leading to increased interest in other types of vaccines.

"We need to focus now on technologies that have proven their worth," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week. "MRNA vaccines are a clear case in point."

Experts at the European Medicines Agency were due to present the conclusions of their investigation later on Tuesday into possible links between the J&J vaccine and very rare cases of unusual clotting disorders detected in the US.

Last week, the vaccine halted its European rollout of its one-dose vaccine after the US Food and Drug Administration recommended officials pause its use while the rare blood clot cases are examined.

The commission has been criticized after insisting EU vaccine sourcing and deployment should be centralized, but then struggling to secure supplies.

Italy was one of the first countries in Europe to be affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and having seen the damage it has done to his country, Draghi said the EU's ability to come up with its own vaccine should have as high a priority as military spending.

Italy recently had talks with Russia about manufacturing its Sputnik V vaccine in Italian factories.

A European Commission official told the Financial Times it welcomed "engagement in vaccine production" and was aware of the government's discussions with companies.

Individual EU states' efforts to increase vaccine production were "complementary" to the commission's, the official continued, adding they "coordinated regularly".

Agencies contributed to this story.