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Protecting vulnerable groups will be an important factor when government regulators consider an emergency authorization of Moderna’s vaccine.
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
Modern
announced that older people in the first trial of its Covid-19 vaccine generated high levels of antibodies against the coronavirus, on par with younger test subjects and patients who have recovered from the disease.
In recent trading, Moderna shares (ticker: MRNA) rose 3.1% to $ 72.73, while
Nasdaq Composite
went up 1%.
Protecting vulnerable groups like the elderly will be an important factor when government regulators consider an emergency authorization of Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine, once its Phase 3 study ends in the next month or two.
“Given the increased morbidity and mortality of Covid-19 in older adults and the elderly, these data give us optimism in demonstrating the protection of mRNA-1273 in this population,” Moderna chief medical officer Tal Zaks said in Tuesday’s announcement. at night.
Modern and a team of
Pfizer
(PFE) and
BioNTech
(BNTX) are both racing down the final stretch of huge pivotal trials of their Covid vaccines. Pfizer has said it could have results by the end of October, but most observers are betting that the two trials will reach their conclusions in November or December.
Johnson and Johnson
(JNJ) will be only a month or so behind with the results of the Phase 3 test.
BioNTech and Pfizer use technology similar to Moderna’s. Shares of BioNTech rose 1.6% to $ 67.95 on Wednesday morning, while Pfizer rose 0.7% to $ 36.42.
The US Food and Drug Administration has told all vaccine developers that their studies must include participants from the populations most affected by Covid. Those groups are the elderly, disadvantaged minorities, and people with pre-existing medical conditions.
So Moderna is pleased to announce a study that will appear in Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine, which looked at elderly participants in the phase 1 trial of its vaccine.
The data show that the vaccine was well tolerated in two age cohorts: those aged 56 to 70 years and those aged 71 and over. At the dose level being tested in Phase 3, the vaccine elicited antibody levels on par with patients who have recovered from Covid. In the lab, antibodies from Moderna’s elderly test subjects prevented the virus from infecting cells at an even higher rate than antibodies from recovered patients.
Phase 3 studies will show if the vaccines from Moderna and its rivals actually prevent Covid infection, but the latest data from Moderna bodes well. The company notes that it already has an agreement to sell 100 million doses to the United States government for $ 1.525 billion, with an option for another 400 million doses. It is also receiving $ 955 million in federal funds and can recoup its development costs.
So surely there will be good income ahead for Moderna, if her vaccine works. Whether there will be enough to justify the company’s $ 26 billion market capitalization is a matter for investors to decide.
Write to Bill Alpert at [email protected]
