Moderna Inc.’s candidate vaccine against Covid-19 protected against the virus in a trial that inoculated 16 monkeys, an encouraging step on the road to defending humans against the pandemic.
Two injections of the vaccine protected against intense exposure to the virus at two different dosage levels, Modern he said in findings published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Primates showed no sign of creating an improved disease, a problem that has occasionally been associated with vaccines.
The results, if maintained in humans, suggest that the vaccine may protect against Covid-19 in the upper and lower airways. According to the results of the study, in all monkeys that received the high doses of the vaccine, no viral replication was detected in their noses two days after being challenged with the virus. And no viral replication was observed in the lung fluid of 7 of 8 animals in both dose groups after challenge with the virus. All 16 monkeys showed at least some sign of protection, with limited lung inflammation in the lungs of both groups.
While the data is encouraging, much larger information A test is underway for Moderna, which involves 30,000 humans. The phase 3 trial to determine the safety and efficacy of the vaccine will start producing data in November or December. The vaccine uses messenger RNA, a synthetic form of the virus’s genetic material designed to boost the body’s immune system to attack mode. The United States government is providing $ 955 million to help finance the development of the vaccine.
Moderna’s shares rose 2% to $ 81.49 at the close in New York.
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