Moderna said preliminary phase three trial data shows its coronavirus vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing Covid-19 — a result CEO Stephane Bancel called a “game-changer.”
The analysis evaluated 95 confirmed Covid-19 infections among the trial’s 30,000 participants. Moderna, which developed its vaccine in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said 90 cases of Covid-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 5 cases observed in the group that received its two-dose vaccine. That resulted in an estimated vaccine efficacy of 94.5%, it said.
Shares of the company jumped by more than 11% in premarket trading.
Moderna said it plans to apply for emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration in “the coming weeks.” The trial will continue to accrue additional data relevant to safety and efficacy even after an application is submitted, the company said.
By the end of the year, Moderna expects to have approximately 20 million doses of the vaccine ready to ship in the U.S., the company said. It said it remains on track to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021.
The company already has supply agreements in North America, the Middle East and in other regions of the world. It announced in August that it had reached a deal with the U.S. government to supply 100 million doses of its vaccine. The deal gives the federal government the option to purchase up to 400 million additional doses. The U.S. had already invested $955 million in Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine development, bringing its total investment up to $2.48 billion, the company said at the time.
Reference: CNBC
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