By
Tolu Ajiboye
December 13th, 2023
Moderna has got nearly $1 billion in support from the U.S. government so far to support the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The biotech firm is conducting its last-stage trials. MRNA stock is up.
On Monday, July 27, shares of Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) jumped a massive 9% as the biotech company received an additional $472 million from the U.S. government for supporting the development of COVID-19 vaccine. MRNA stock was trading at $79.91 on Monday closing. Today in the pre-market, Moderna (MRNA) stock is 0.74% up.
Moderna has been a leading pharmaceutical and biotech company working on the coronavirus vaccine. So far, its stock price has appreciated 300% year-to-date. The company has already entered the phase 3 clinical trial stage for the vaccine. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority said that the funding will support Moderna’s late-stage developments of its vaccine.
On Monday, Moderna and Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) launched two 30,000-subject trials of COVID-19 vaccines. These trials are also likely to receive the regulatory and be available for use by the end of 2020, said the two companies. Besides, both vaccine candidates rely on new technologies that allow faster development and manufacturing than other traditional vaccines.
The experimental vaccine by Moderna contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA. This messenger RNA teaches the immune system to identify and neutralize the coronavirus by just mimicking its surface. So far, Moderna has received close to $1 billion from the U.S. government for the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The results of Moderna’s last-stage trials could be available as soon as this October. During an interview with CNBC, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said:
“It’s a really optimistic scenario. It could be November. Again, at this stage, it’s impossible for us to know precisely. It will depend on the event rate, the attack rate of infection.”
Pharma Giants Accelerating Vaccine Developments Following Moderna (MRNA)
Along with Moderna, pharma giants like Pfizer and AstraZeneca received permission for phase one human trials in March. Pfizer has also entered an agreement with the U.S. Government to sell vaccines for 50 million people for $2 billion, if it is effective.
As per WHO, more than 150 vaccines are already under development and 25 vaccines are in human trials. AstraZeneca Plc (NYSE: AZN), who is developing the vaccine with Oxford University researchers, said that it will begin the large-scale U.S. trials by this summer.
The COVID-19 spread worldwide has increased concerns. So far, over 16.6 million cases have been registered worldwide with over 650,000 deaths. While the testing is underway, manufacturers have also ramped up production just in case to meet the demand.
Moderna has said that it plans to deliver anywhere between 500 million and 1 billion doses per year from 2021. Speaking on the rapidly surging stock price, CNBC’s Jim Cramers on Monday asked investors to maintain caution. Cramer said that it is going to take a long time for the vaccine to arrive and investors should have reasonable expectations with any potential breakthrough.