What happened
Actions of Modern (NASDAQ: MRNA) It rose 16% on Friday, after reports that the biotech company is negotiating an advanced purchase agreement for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine with the European Union.
Moderna’s shares, which closed at a record high of $ 94.85, have now risen an impressive 385% so far in 2020.
And that
The EU is trying to align agreements with several manufacturers of coronavirus vaccines, according to Reuters. Among these companies are Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY), BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX)and Modern. “We are in talks with several companies about possible COVID-19 vaccines,” an EU spokesman told Reuters on Friday.
Moderna’s shares have generated incredible returns for investors. Image source: Getty Images.
The EU negotiations are reportedly in more advanced stages with Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, which could supply their 27 member states with up to 200 million and 300 million doses of vaccines, respectively. Conversations with Moderna were said to be ongoing.
Now what
Governments around the world are competing to close deals that could supply their citizens with COVID-19 vaccines, if they prove to be safe and effective. With the number of COVID-19 cases increasing at an alarming rate in many countries, competition between nations for these potentially life-saving drugs is likely to intensify in the coming months.
It is also not surprising that the EU wants to reach an agreement with Moderna. A recent analysis published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that Moderna’s experimental vaccine helped produce neutralizing antibodies, which scientists say could defend against coronavirus infections, in 100% of the participants in their phase 1 study. Although more evidence is needed, the results are considered an notable progress towards the development of a possible COVID-19 vaccine.
