Moderna Inc. has revealed that it would be ready to give early feedback of its recent tests for a COVID-19 vaccine by November, as the world eagerly awaits to know how effective the vaccine will be. The pharmaceutical company has been conducting a 30,000-man trial towards finding a coronavirus cure.
It also added that an autonomous data monitoring team would be conducting a temporary appraisal on the trials by next month. Based in Massachusetts, Moderna Inc. is one of the pharmaceutical companies spearheading the search for a coronavirus cure.
The company, which had its share price soaring by 3% after this assertion, plans to dispense the vaccine “mRNA-1273” as quickly as possible. Its projections include producing at least 20 million vaccine doses by 2020 ending and not less than 500 million doses for 2021.
Stating that the rate of infection among the trial samples were being tracked, Tal Zaks, the company’s Chief Medical Officer has said, “since we are following the ZIP codes (U.S. geographic areas) and the counties from which these participants come, we have pretty sophisticated models of what to expect, and I think we’re on track for those expectations.”
Stephane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna, has also said that getting a United States regulatory board’s approval will go a long way to boosting the company’s prominence. Bancel disclosed this during a call conference to report its quarterly results.
Though the technology behind the mRNA-1273 has not resulted in a certified vaccine, it is a significant component in vaccines created by other pharmaceutical firms such as German partner BioNTech and Pfizer Inc. The vaccine being developed by Moderna imitates the coronavirus’s outer layer with the help of an artificial messenger RNA known as “mRNA”.
Moderna has entered into agreements with governments from several countries, including the United States, to supply the coronavirus vaccine. It is also in correspondence with COVAX, an agency of the World health organization, about possible pricing and effective distribution.
Moderna has also revealed that its supply deal with the United States is for a total of 100 million vaccines costing $25 each. The deal is tied to grants offered to the company by the U.S. government and performance overheads, though there is a possibility of the U.S. purchasing 400 million more doses.
Moderna is in talks with Takeda Pharmaceutical of Japan, who have secured the vaccine’s supervisory authorization. The Japanese firm is ready to import 50 million vaccines beginning from the first half of next year. Moderna is also in talks with Israel, the European Union, and Canada on the possibility of making the vaccine available to them.
Source: reuters.com
