Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) are up by 9.4% as of 3:32 p.m. EDT on Thursday after the company released its fiscal first-quarter earnings report. However, the company's actual financial results weren't the highlight of its earnings release. Moderna announced some exciting news regarding its investigational COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273. This news more than likely served as the catalyst for Moderna's shares jumping today.
Moderna has been one of the leaders in the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. Back in mid-March, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) started a phase 1 clinical trial to investigate the safety of mRNA-1273, its ability to trigger an immune response in the body, and the amount that causes expected side effects. The trial initially enrolled 45 healthy adult volunteers, but it was later amended to include six additional participants.
Image source: Getty Images.
Source Fool.com