Moderna is trialling a potential vaccine against Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which is the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the United States and can cause newborn hearing loss. It is in phase three trials and Moderna said this week it should have results later this year.
If the vaccine is effective and uptake is high, an analyst1 says there could be a reduction in the paediatric cochlear implant market, which makes it sound a bit like Cochlear’s potential Ozempic moment.
How material could that be for Cochlear?
Well, if you assume the vaccine was launched in the 2026 financial year, took two years to roll out and saw a 20 per cent reduction in newborns with hearing impairment, an analyst says it could cut Cochlear’s paediatric volumes by about 5 per cent.