Hope Thrives: American Company's COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Positive Results In Early Human Trials

American biotech company, Moderna's experimental vaccine 'mRNA-1273' showed positive interim clinical data against novel coronavirus, from the phase 1 study.

It said the vaccine's preliminary test in healthy volunteers was "generally safe and well-tolerated," reports Bloomberg.

Source/NyTimes

"Dose-dependent increases in immunogenicity were seen across the three dose levels," it added. The results are just a sample from the small, first study designed to look at the safety of the shot in human volunteers.

The trial is being run with the US government, and Moderna plans to continue advancing it to wider testing.

Moderna shares surged 26% in trading before the market opened in New York. Broader markets rose as well, with S&P 500 futures and European stocks trading near session highs, reports Reuters.

The company's vaccine is at the forefront of the efforts in developing a treatment for the fast-spreading virus.

They won the US health agency's "fast track" label to speed up the regulatory review. Moderna expects to start a larger late-stage trial in July.

Scientists are trying to understand what level of antibodies will ultimately prove protective against the novel coronavirus, and how long that protection will last.

Moderna said the vaccine appeared to show a dose-response, meaning that people who got the 100 mcg dose produced more antibodies than people who got the lower dose. The data comes from eight people who took part in a 45-subject safety trial that kicked off in March.

The Moderna vaccine is one of more than 100, under development, intended to protect against the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 4.7 million people globally and killed over 3,17,000.

Eight patients who were administered Moderna's vaccine were found to have antibody levels similar to those in blood samples of people who have recovered from COVID-19, according to early results from the study conducted by the National Institutes of Health.

¡°This is a very good sign that we make an antibody that can stop the virus from replicating," Moderna Chief Executive Officer, Stephane Bancel, said in an interview. The data ¡°couldn¡¯t have been better," he said.

Bancel said that safety profile appeared to be good, and the reactions were typical of vaccines. Three patients who got a high dose of the vaccine had more severe side effects, according to a company presentation. That dose won¡¯t be used in later trials. One person with more severe side effects got a middle dose, and had redness around the injection site, the company said.

Side effects seen in the trial included fatigue, fever, muscle pain and headache. All of the symptoms resolved within a day, a Moderna executive said on a conference call, reports Bloomberg.

"We are investing to scale up manufacturing so we can maximize the number of doses we can produce to help protect as many people as we can from SARS-CoV-2," Moderna Chief Executive Officer, St¨¦phane Bancel, said.

Reuters

The company has signed deals with Swiss contract drugmaker Lonza Group AG, and the U.S. government, to produce massive quantities of the vaccine.

There are currently no approved treatments or vaccines for COVID-19 that is caused by the new coronavirus, and experts predict a safe and effective vaccine could take 12-18 months to develop.

All Inputs: Bloomberg/Reuters