June 10 (Reuters) - Moderna ( MRNA ) said on Monday its

combination vaccine to protect against both COVID-19 and

influenza generated a stronger immune response in adults aged 50

and over when compared to separate shots against the viruses in

a late-stage trial.

In the study, the combination using messenger RNA technology

generated greater antibodies than currently marketed traditional

flu vaccines and Moderna's ( MRNA ) Spikevax mRNA COVID shot, the company

said.

The vaccine, called mRNA-1083, elicited a higher immune

response against two A strains and one B strain of the flu in

older adults when compared with widely used flu shots from GSK

and Sanofi, according to the company.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March recommended

drugmakers target those three strains, called H1N1, H3N2, and

B/Victoria, when developing their seasonal flu vaccines for

2024.

The latest data was collected from two arms of a larger

study that involved around 8,000 people - one tested the

combination against GSK's Fluarix in adults aged 50 to 64 and

another against Sanofi's Fluzone HD in people 65 and older.

Fluzone is a high-dose vaccine for older people.

Moderna ( MRNA ) President Stephen Hoge said the drugmaker hopes to

launch the combination shot for the autumn respiratory disease

season in 2025. "If not 2025, then 2026," he said.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has been banking

on new vaccines to make up for vastly lower demand and sales for

its COVID shot.

If approved, the combination vaccine would be Moderna's ( MRNA )

third marketed product, having received FDA approval for its

respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine last month.

Moderna ( MRNA ) also said the combination was found to be safe and

tolerable in the latest study, and that rates of adverse side

effects were similar to those of the other vaccines used in the

trial.

The most common side effects were injection site pain,

fatigue, muscle aches and headache, Moderna ( MRNA ) said.

The company said it expects to release the full results from

the study at an upcoming medical conference.