TOPLINE
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate produced a robust immune response in the 45 people who participated in an early-stage human trial, raising hopes that the vaccine may offer some protection against the coronavirus, according to a preliminary report. published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The Moderna vaccine candidate will now move on to a larger trial with 30,000 participants.
KEY FACTS
The antibody levels observed in the 45 participants were in the upper half of what has been seen in patients who have recovered from the disease.
The antibody response does not prove that the vaccine is effective, but it fulfills an important first objective of the test.
The 15 participants who received the highest dose of the vaccine showed antibody levels that were four times higher than the recovered patients.
While the vaccines showed no serious toxicity, more than half of the participants experienced mild side effects, such as moderate fatigue, chills, headaches, and muscle pain.
Three of the patients who received the highest dose of the vaccines experienced serious side effects, the report notes, without elaborating.
Moderna has stated that the high dose of 250 micrograms will not carry over to its expanded trial, which will enroll 30,000 participants.
Assessment of the durability of immune responses is ongoing, Moderna said in a press release, adding that the participants will be followed for one year after the second vaccination.
Moderna’s shares are up 9.8% in after-hours trading after the results were released.
Key background
Moderna is testing a vaccine that contains genetic material called messenger RNA that causes cells to produce the spike protein Covid-19 and induces an immune response from the body. It differs from a traditional vaccine, in which a weakened or inactivated version of the virus is injected into a person. The published findings are in line with the results that Moderna had published in a press release in May, but provide more detail on antibody levels and side effects. Last month, the country’s top infectious disease official, Dr. Anthony Fauci, had told the US Congress that its “cautiously optimistic” scientists will be able to create at least one safe and effective vaccine by the end of the year. or early 2021.
