By
Godfrey Benjamin
October 4th, 2023
Moderna chairman Noubar Afeyan assured people of the company’s fidelity to statistical accuracy concerning its vaccine trials. MRNA stock price went up yesterday.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) stock prices rose by 2.51% at the last trading session. This occurred as Moderna chairman Noubar Afeyan indicated that the company will give only accurate data on its coronavirus vaccine trials.
Yesterday, Moderna (MRNA) stock was at $73.47 (+2.51%). Now in the pre-market, it has lost 0.50%, now teh stock is at $73.10.
Afeyan told sources that the data for the coronavirus vaccine given will not be different from “reality”.
Moderna (MRNA) Stock Price Rises as Its Chairman Gives Assurances
Noubar Afeyan told CNBC’s Power Lunch:
“We take what we do very seriously. We would not, have not put out some of the data to make anything look any different from the reality.”
His comments come as STAT News a US healthcare publication cited skepticism of Moderna’s data by healthcare professionals. The professionals said that important information was missing from the released data.
Information to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine was missing. This sent Moderna (MRNA) stock prices dipping. The broader U.S. market went south slightly as well. Moderna (MRNA) stock prices recovered later however.
The bio-medical company had released the data from its phase one company on Monday. The results showed that all 45 of the patients produced antibodies at similar levels to recovered patients. The data available from about eight patients showed that they were producing antibodies that neutralized COVID-19. More data from the rest of the participants are expected to be released soon.
Afeyan alluded to the fact that the professionals were playing guessing games. he said that the experts may be “professing expertise and guessing on what we may or may not have.”
On the matter, Moderna chairman Noubar said:
“That is not very useful to a world that is looking for some news that they can interpret. I would simply urge the public to pay attention to what we say.”
Moderna is working hard with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to develop a vaccine.
Phase 2 Is About to Begin
Moderna has indicated that it was finishing the phase one trials. The phase two trials are going to have about 600 participants. If all goes well, a vaccine will be ready for public use in early 2021. Should Moderna pull this off, this will be the first time in human history that a vaccine was developed this fast.
Timelines and a cursory study of modern history show that it takes on average 3-7 years to develop a working vaccine. Numerous trials, tests, and control tests have to be done to determine the efficacy of a vaccine.
Several advancements in science and technology have shortened this timeline. Moderna though is using an RNA-based vaccine which may explain the accuracy of its trials.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that the vaccine won’t come with its issues. These issues will most likely have been solved by the next round of testing.
For now though, all the rest of humanity can do is hope for the best.
Other coronavirus updates are here.