Analyst reviews leading mRNA COVID-19 vaccines candidates

There are eight mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidates currently in Phase II or Phase III clinical trials. These vaccines are faster to develop than traditional vaccine formulations, as they use only the genetic sequence of the virus.

Leading COVID-19 mRNA vaccine candidates reported greater than 90% efficacy, which raises concerns if other candidates in earlier stages of development can match that of the frontrunners, says analytics firm GlobalData.

Arcturus Therapeutics’ (Nasdaq: ARCT) potential single-dose vaccine ARCT-021 is reported to have demonstrated both humoral and cellular immunity to the vaccine antigen, at relatively low dose level, but it remains to be seen in future clinical trials whether the vaccine candidate can meet the high efficacy bar set by the frontrunners.