CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: This week, Moderna said that a late-stage trial showed that compared to traditional flu shots, its new flu vaccine generated a stronger immune response against all four A and B influenza virus strains.

The company said that its flu vaccine's effectiveness was proven across all age groups, including older people, and it was shown to be safe and tolerable.

Moderna also said that a separate early head-to-head study found that its new shot was equal or superior to Sanofi's high-dose flu vaccine.

In a note, Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said that Moderna could use this data to file for accelerated approval of its flu shot in the U.S. by 2023-end, and likely launch the vaccine by the 2024/2025 season.

However, there was not enough available data to determine whether the flu vaccine would succeed after it failed to meet the "early-success" criteria in the study, the company had previously said.