(Reuters) – Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said Sunday that it received an additional $ 472 million from the United States government’s Advanced Biomedical Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support the development of its new coronavirus vaccine.
FILE PHOTO: A sign marks the headquarters of Moderna Inc, which is developing a coronavirus vaccine, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, May 18, 2020. REUTERS / Brian Snyder / File Photo
The US-based drug maker said the additional funds will support its advanced-stage clinical development, including the expanded Phase 3 study of the Moderna vaccine candidate.
In April, Moderna had received $ 483 million from the US federal agency that funds technology to fight disease, when the experimental vaccine was in an early-stage trial conducted by the US National Institutes of Health.
“Encouraged by the Phase 1 data, we believe that our mRNA vaccine can help address the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent future outbreaks,” said Executive Director Stéphane Bancel in a press release.
BARDA’s total funding for Moderna’s experimental vaccine, the first in the United States to begin human trials of a coronavirus vaccine, is now approximately $ 955 million.
The vaccine uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) to inoculate against the coronavirus. Such treatments help the body to become immunized against a virus and can be developed and manufactured more quickly than traditional vaccines.
A Phase 3 study, conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will begin July 27 and will involve some 30,000 participants, according to the company.
Moderna said it is on track to be able to administer around 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to a billion doses per year, as of 2021.
The announcement of new funding came two days after the drug’s developer said its formula used to develop the vaccine was not covered by patents owned by Arbutus Biopharma (ABUSE)
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), Novavax Inc (NVAX.O), The British AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) are a few other drug manufacturers that received funds from BARDA for the development of the coronavirus vaccine.
Report by Maria Ponnezhath in Bangalore; Editing by Will Dunham
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