Moderna Releases mRNA Vaccine Data, but Few Details About Its Coronavirus Candidate

On Tuesday, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) held its first Vaccines Day -- virtually, of course -- to give investors and analysts an overview of its pipeline of nine mRNA vaccines that it hopes will provide protection against a variety of viruses, among them SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As of 3:30 p.m. EDT, shares of Moderna were up 4.6% on the day, outpacing the Nasdaq, which was up 3.9%.

The company's 259-slide presentation gave a good background on vaccines and how Moderna's vaccine-creation technology is substantially different than older technologies, but what likely drove its shares higher on Tuesday was the release of interim data from its phase 1 clinical trial testing mRNA-1893, a Zika virus vaccine. The 10 microgram dose of the vaccine produced a seroconversion rate -- patients going from not having antibodies to the virus to having antibodies -- of 94.4%. More impressive, all 23 of the patients treated with the 30 microgram dose had a seroconversion.

Moderna also tested the vaccine on patients who already had antibodies to the Zika virus: 50% of those patients receiving the 10 microgram dose and 75% of patients who got the 30 microgram dose demonstrated a four-fold increase in antibodies after the second vaccination.

Source Fool.com