Biotech company surges ahead of competitors as race toward COVID-19 vaccine continues
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Massachusetts-based biotechnology firm Moderna is slated to begin its Phase 3 clinical trial to test the effectiveness of the company’s vaccine against the novel coronavirus.
This comes after a successful Phase 1 trial and reported significant progress in Phase 2, which is still currently underway. The Phase 3 trial will be conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
Researchers plan to randomize 30,000 people across the U.S. with either 100 μg of the vaccine candidate, known as mRNA-1273, or a placebo and assess whether the vaccine is effective in preventing signs of the coronavirus. Researchers will also look for differences between the two groups in terms of positive COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Moderna is known for harnessing what’s called “messenger ribonucleic acid” (mRNA) as a way to develop therapeutics and vaccines. Messenger RNA carries genetic material and, according to the company’s website, facilitates protein synthesis and allows the body to capitalize on its own innate ability to prevent and fight disease.
“We look forward to beginning our Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 with some 30,000 participants in July,” said Tal Zaks, MD, PhD and Chief Medical Officer at Moderna, in a June 11 statement. “Moderna is committed to advancing the clinical development of mRNA-1273 as safely and quickly as possible to demonstrate our vaccine’s ability to significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19.”
The company is on pace to deliver 500 million doses of the vaccine by year’s end and up to 1 billion by mid-2021.
Moderna is one of the last remaining candidates of Operation Warp Speed–the White House Coronavirus Task Force’s initiative aimed at expediting a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination by the year’s end. The four other players who made the cut include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Pfizer.