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Moderna Rallies on US Government Grant for Coronavirus Vaccine
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Moderna, Inc. (MRNA - Free Report) announced that it has signed an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") under which the agency has committed to pay up to $483 million to accelerate the development of its mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273. The award will fund the development of the candidate through to FDA licensure.
BARDA is a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Moderna’s mRNA-1273 is currently being evaluated in a phase I study, conducted by National Institutes of Health. The company plans to start a phase II study this quarter, if safety data from phase I study supports. It is also planning to initiate the phase III stage as early as fourth-quarter 2020. The award from BARDA will support the next-stage of development as well asmanufacturing process scale-up in 2020 to support large-scale production for pandemic response
Shares of Moderna rallied almost 20% in after-market trading on Apr 16, following the announcement. In fact, the company’s shares have more than doubled so far this year against the industry’s decrease of 5%.
The ongoing phase I study on mRNA-1273 is evaluating three doses of the candidate — 25 µg, 100 µg and 250 µg — in three patient groups — adults aged 18 to 55 years, older adults aged 56 to70 years and elderly people aged 71 years and above — in nine separate cohorts. Enrollment in three cohorts evaluating the candidate in adult patient groups has been completed. Enrollment is ongoing in the remaining six cohorts.
Moderna is also planning to add 150 team members to support its efforts to fight coronavirus.
With coronavirus infecting more than two million people worldwide and killing more than145,000, pharmaceutical and biotech companies are racing against time to successfully develop a treatment or vaccine to combat the disease.
Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) and Translate Bio (TBIO - Free Report) havecollaborated to develop a mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. Sanofi and Glaxo (GSK - Free Report) have agreed to co-develop a novel adjuvant coronavirus vaccine using their proven technologies. Other major pharma companies developing vaccine for COVID-19 include Pfizer and J&J.
Apart from vaccines, several companies are developing their marketed drugs or pipeline candidates to find a cure for severe coronavirus infection by targeting to reduce exaggerated immune response in such patients. Gilead is developing is its antiviral candidate, remdesivir, as a treatment for COVID-19 in two late-stage studies. Earlier this week, the company reported promising data from the study evaluating the candidate in patients hospitalized with severe complications of COVID-19.
Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.
Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
Image: Shutterstock
Moderna Rallies on US Government Grant for Coronavirus Vaccine
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA - Free Report) announced that it has signed an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA") under which the agency has committed to pay up to $483 million to accelerate the development of its mRNA-based coronavirus vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273. The award will fund the development of the candidate through to FDA licensure.
BARDA is a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Moderna’s mRNA-1273 is currently being evaluated in a phase I study, conducted by National Institutes of Health. The company plans to start a phase II study this quarter, if safety data from phase I study supports. It is also planning to initiate the phase III stage as early as fourth-quarter 2020. The award from BARDA will support the next-stage of development as well asmanufacturing process scale-up in 2020 to support large-scale production for pandemic response
Shares of Moderna rallied almost 20% in after-market trading on Apr 16, following the announcement. In fact, the company’s shares have more than doubled so far this year against the industry’s decrease of 5%.
The ongoing phase I study on mRNA-1273 is evaluating three doses of the candidate — 25 µg, 100 µg and 250 µg — in three patient groups — adults aged 18 to 55 years, older adults aged 56 to70 years and elderly people aged 71 years and above — in nine separate cohorts. Enrollment in three cohorts evaluating the candidate in adult patient groups has been completed. Enrollment is ongoing in the remaining six cohorts.
Moderna is also planning to add 150 team members to support its efforts to fight coronavirus.
With coronavirus infecting more than two million people worldwide and killing more than145,000, pharmaceutical and biotech companies are racing against time to successfully develop a treatment or vaccine to combat the disease.
Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) and Translate Bio (TBIO - Free Report) havecollaborated to develop a mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. Sanofi and Glaxo (GSK - Free Report) have agreed to co-develop a novel adjuvant coronavirus vaccine using their proven technologies. Other major pharma companies developing vaccine for COVID-19 include Pfizer and J&J.
Apart from vaccines, several companies are developing their marketed drugs or pipeline candidates to find a cure for severe coronavirus infection by targeting to reduce exaggerated immune response in such patients. Gilead is developing is its antiviral candidate, remdesivir, as a treatment for COVID-19 in two late-stage studies. Earlier this week, the company reported promising data from the study evaluating the candidate in patients hospitalized with severe complications of COVID-19.
Moderna, Inc. Price
Moderna, Inc. price | Moderna, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank
Moderna currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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