Daiichi Sankyo has reached an agreement with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to supply the omicron XBB.1.5- adapted monovalent mRNA vaccine (DS-5670) against COVID-19.

DS-5670 will be used in the current special temporary vaccination programme against COVID-19 in Japan that began in Autumn 2023. This agreement was concluded to supply 1.4 million doses in FY2023 under the condition that regulatory approval for DS-5670 should be granted by MHLW.

Daiichi Sankyo submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for DS-5670 to the MHLW in September 2023. Daiichi Sankyo is now preparing its production facilities to supply DS-5670, the first Japan-made COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, within this year. The company will strive to further strengthen technologies for vaccine development and production, thereby contributing to the safety and security of society and people’s health in Japan.

DS-5670 is an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 designed to produce antibodies against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of the novel coronavirus, utilizing a novel nucleic acid drug delivery system discovered by Daiichi Sankyo. In Japan, DS-5670, an original-strain-containing monovalent mRNA vaccine, was approved for manufacturing and marketing in August 2023 and is authorised to be used as a booster dose with an indication of “Prevention of disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.”