- Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is now the second company to report the preliminary results from a large trial in the testing of a coronavirus vaccine. And Moderna said that the vaccine was 94.5% effective.
Biopharmaceutical company Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is now the second company to report the preliminary results from a large trial in the testing of a coronavirus vaccine, according to The New York Times. Moderna said that the vaccine was 94.5% effective, based on an early look at the results from its large study.
Researchers at the company said that the results were much better than they expected. However, the vaccine is likely not going to be available until the spring.
The first company to declare it had a successful vaccine based on preliminary data was Pfizer, which is partnered with BioNTech. Last week, Pfizer said that its vaccine was over 90% effective.
There are about 10 other companies that are conducting large Phase 3 trials. And over 50 other candidates are currently in the early stages of testing.
The FDA requires coronavirus vaccines to be at least 50% effective in order to be approved.
KEY QUOTE:
“This is a pivotal moment in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Since early January, we have chased this virus with the intent to protect as many people around the world as possible. All along, we have known that each day matters. This positive interim analysis from our Phase 3 study has given us the first clinical validation that our vaccine can prevent COVID-19 disease, including severe disease. This milestone is only possible because of the hard work and sacrifices of so many. I want to thank the thousands of participants in our Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies, and the staff at our clinical trial sites who have been on the front lines of the fight against the virus. They are an inspiration to us all. I want to thank the NIH, particularly NIAID, for their scientific leadership including through years of foundational research on potential pandemic threats at the Vaccine Research Center that led to the discovery of the best way to make Spike protein antigens that are being used in our vaccine and others’. I want to thank our partners at BARDA and Operation Warp Speed who have been instrumental to accelerating our progress to this point. Finally, I want to thank the Moderna team, our suppliers and our partners, for their tireless work across research, development and manufacturing of the vaccine. We look forward to the next milestones of submitting for an EUA in the U.S., and regulatory filings in countries around the world, while we continue to collect data on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the COVE study. We remain committed to and focused on doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.”
— Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna
