Moderna reports 'robust' immune response with COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273

Shares of US mRNA therapeutics and vaccines biotech Moderna (Nasdaq: MRNA) were up more than 17% at $88 in pre-market trading this morning, after announcing the publication of an interim analysis of the open-label Phase I study of mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against COVID-19, in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The company’s shares have gained near four-fold this year, based on the promise of its work in the COVID-19 sector, and just yesterday the stock was admitted to the elite Nasdaq-100.

This interim analysis evaluated a two-dose vaccination schedule of mRNA-1273 given 28 days apart across three dose levels (25, 100, 250µg) in 45 healthy adult participants ages 18-55 years, and reports results through Day 57. Results from participants in the initial dose cohorts who received both vaccinations and were evaluated at pre-specified timepoints reaffirm the positive interim data assessment announced on May 18 and show mRNA-1273 induced rapid and strong immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. The study was led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).