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Moderna Surges in the Pre-Market Thanks to Gov’t Aid

American biotechnology company Moderna surged in the pre-market this Monday as investors got excited about its Phase 3 trail. The drug maker’s stocks gained by more than 5 points today, making a comeback from last week’s slip up.

Yesterday, the company announced that it has received an additional funding of about 472 million US dollars. Reports say that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) granted the funding to the drugmaker.

The aid will directly go to the development of the company’s novel coronavirus vaccine. According to the company, the additional funds will support its late-stage clinical development study, including the Phase 3 trials.

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate is already one of the front-runners in the race towards the cure.

Just in 2020 alone, the drugmaker’s shares have gone up by at least 270% in the stock market.

In April, the biotechnology company initially received 483 million US dollars from the US federal agency. At that time, the firm was reportedly in its early-stage trial for its coronavirus vaccine candidate.

The initial trials also took place along with the United States National Institutes of Health.

In a press release, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company feels some encouragement due to its Phase 1 data. He then added that the firm believes that its mRNA vaccine would be a critical aid in the fight against the pandemic.

Bancel also said that the vaccine would help to prevent further outbreaks of the virus in the future.

Big Help

Moderna is able to thrive in stock trading thanks to the support of the government. Now, BARDA’s additional funding brings the total aid for the company to 955 million US dollars.

Aside from that, the Massachusetts-based firm is the first American drugmaker to enter human trials for its coronavirus vaccine.

Reports say that the drug uses synthetic messenger RNA, or mRNA, to inoculate against COVID-19. The treatment helps the human body to become immune against the virus.

The mRNA treatment can also be developed and produced much more efficiently than other traditional vaccines.

Moderna’s Phase 3 trials will start this Monday and it will involve 30,000 patients. The company also said that it will collaborate with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the trial.

The biotechnology company claims that it’s on track to deliver 500 million to 1 billion doses yearly starting on 2021.

In yesterday’s announcement, the firm also clarified that its vaccine formula wasn’t under the patents owned by Arbutus Biopharma.

Other companies that received BARDA’s support includes Novavax, Pfizer, and British firm AstraZeneca.



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