Moderna vaccine launch is underway with 1.1 billion in deposits from governments, accoridng to the biotech company.
In its third-quarter earnings report, Moderna said it was coordinating with the World Health Organization-backed COVAX initiative on a tiered pricing proposal for its Covid-19 vaccine, which is tentatively labeled mRNA-1273.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company already sealed supply agreements in North America, the Middle East, and in other parts of the world.
“We are actively preparing for the launch of mRNA-1273 and we have signed a number of supply agreements with governments around the world,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release. “Moderna is committed to the highest data quality standards and rigorous scientific research as we continue to work with regulators to advance mRNA-1273.”
Shares of Moderna increased by more than 3% in midmorning trading.
Moderna, a front-runner in the Covid-19 vaccine race, announced the completion of the enrollment for its 30,000-participant late-stage trial last week. There were more than 25,650 participants who had taken the second of the company’s two-dose coronavirus vaccine as of last week. Moderna noted that about 37% of the participants were from different communities and 42% were considered high risk of severe disease.
Meanwhile, over half or 53% of the respondents in the trial are male and 47% are female, based on a presentation from the company. Most of the respondents are over the age of 25, with only 5% in the 18 to-24 age group.
On a call with investors, Bancel stressed that the company expects the data and safety monitoring board to hold its first interim analysis in November. The board will not hold its analysis until after there are 53 cases of Covid-19 patients in Moderna’s phase three trial.
Moderna’s vaccine is being produced with the National Institutes of Health. It involves the genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which scientists hope develops the immune system to combat the virus.
Moderna also said its vaccine must be kept at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, which will keep it preserved for up to six months. Meanwhile, Pfizer’s vaccine needs a storage temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
Moderna’s vaccine can be refrigerated at about 36 degrees for up to seven days. It needs to be given within 12 hours after thawing.
High efficacy
In July, White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his hope that the Moderna vaccine will have an efficacy of at least 60% or even higher.
“Obviously, we would like to see it much, much higher. But 60% is the standard that you do for the cutoff. That’s not unusual,” he said. “I would like to see the highest percentage that we could possibly get.”
The percentage means that on average, the coronavirus vaccine could reduce a person’s risk of Covid-19 by 60%.
Dr. Fauci also said that he is not “not particularly concerned” about the safety risk of the Moderna vaccine, despite the use of a new technology to fight the virus.
“It’s a novel technology. We are certainly aware of the fact that there’s not as much experience with this type of platform as there are with other standards,” Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the press on a conference call alongside National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins.
“I’m not particularly concerned,” he said. “But I don’t want a lack of severe concern to get in the way that we are keeping an open mind to look for any possible deleterious effects as we get into and through the phase-three trial.”
