Covid-19 vaccine Photograph:( Reuters )
The company said it is preparing to distribute the vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, and expects to be able to produce 20 million doses by the end of the year, and between 500 million and 1 billion in 2021.
Moderna Inc has said it is preparing to launch its experimental coronavirus vaccine. It on Thursday said it is on track to report early data from a late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine next month, offering the clearest timeline yet for when the world will know whether it is effective.
The company has received $1.1 billion in customer deposits for the shots during the third quarter.
“We are actively preparing for the launch of mRNA-1273 and we have signed a number of supply agreements with governments around the world," Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a press release.
The company, one of the front-runners in the global race to produce vaccines to protect against COVID-19, said an independent data monitoring committee is expected to conduct an interim review of its ongoing 30,000-person trial in November. Its shares rose 3%.
The company said it is preparing to distribute the vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, and expects to be able to produce 20 million doses by the end of the year, and between 500 million and 1 billion in 2021.
Moderna Inc earlier told Reuters it would seek emergency FDA authorisation to use its vaccine in high-risk groups if an interim assessment of its trial showed its vaccine was at least 70% effective.
The Moderna vaccine uses synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) to mimic the surface of the coronavirus and teach the immune system to recognize and neutralize it. The technology, which has yet to produce an approved vaccine, is also used in the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer Inc PFE.N and German partner BioNTech SE 22AUy.F.
Moderna said it expects two-month follow-up safety data, as required by the US Food and Drug Administration, in the second half of November, after which it will file for an emergency use authorization. Recent FDA guidelines called on COVID-19 vaccine developers to watch trial subjects for two months after they receive a final dose for any side effects that may crop up.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has signed supply deals with the U.S. government and several other countries, and is also in talks with the World Health Organisation-led group, COVAX, about vaccine distribution and a tiered pricing proposal.
Moderna said its deal with the US government for 100 million doses values the vaccine at $25 per dose, based on the grants it received and performance payments. The U.S. government has an option to buy an additional 400 million doses.
The company, whose supply agreements include deals with Japan, Canada and Israel, said it is in talks with the European Union and others.
Other vaccine in final stages of human testing include those from Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N.
Pfizer said this week that there had not yet been enough infections in its 44,000-volunteer trial to trigger the first analysis of whether its vaccine works.
(with inputs)