Initial Data for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise

July 17, 2020

On Tuesday, Moderna announced promising results from the Phase 1 study of its vaccine candidate, called mRNA-1273. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine  showed that all 45 volunteers who received two vaccine doses developed immune responses that were stronger than in patients who have recovered from COVID-19.

“These positive Phase 1 data are encouraging and represent an important step forward in the clinical development of mRNA-1273, our vaccine candidate against COVID-19, and we thank the NIH for their ongoing collaboration. The Moderna team continues to focus on starting our Phase 3 study this month and, if successful, filing a BLA,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “We are committed to advancing the clinical development of mRNA-1273 as quickly and safely as possible while investing to scale up manufacturing so that we can help address this global health emergency.”

According to the company’s statement, its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, was generally safe and well-tolerated. Adverse events were typically transient and mild to moderate in severity.

Moderna is working closely with Operation Warp Speed and the NIH, to conduct its Phase 3 study, with enrollment to begin July 27. The company says they’re on track to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, beginning in 2021.