$483 million BARDA award for Moderna to accelerate novel coronavirus vaccine

Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines developer Moderna Therapeutics (Nasdaq: MRNA) saw its shares close up 9% yesterday and up more than 17% at $47.64 in pre-market trading today, after revealing a financing deal for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The Boston USA-based biotech said it has reached agreement for a commitment of up to $483 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to accelerate development of the company’s mRNA vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273) against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

Under the terms of the agreement, the BARDA will fund the advancement of mRNA-1273 to Food and Drug Administration licensure. A Phase I study of mRNA-1273 is being conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which began on March 16, 2020, and has completed enrollment of the original study: 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years in three dose cohorts (25µg, 100µg and 250µg). The NIH recently amended the Phase I protocol to include an additional six cohorts: three cohorts of older adults (ages 51-70) and three cohorts of elderly adults (age 71 and above). Enrollment for these cohorts is ongoing.