Moderna's COVID-19 Shot Provides Over 90% Effectiveness Six Months After Second Dose, Boosters Can Potentially Fight Against Variants

Just a day before Moderna Inc’s MRNA second annual Vaccines Day, the company has posted an update on its COVID-19 Vaccine Program, including a 6-month look at the COVID-19 shot and new preclinical data that suggest its booster candidates stand a chance against new variants.
COVID-19 Vaccine Additional Data: An updated review of 900-plus COVID-19 cases from the Phase 3 COVE study confirms the jab is more than 90% effective against all cases and over 95% effective against severe cases.
According to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine, an NIH-led Phase 1 study in 33 participants showed that antibodies persisted six months after the second dose.
Moderna believes efficacy starts in two weeks after the second dose.
Pfizer Inc PFE and BioNTech SE BNTX partnered jab demonstrated six months after the second dose an overall efficacy rate of 91.3%.
Variant-Specific Booster Candidates: Moderna’s variant-specific booster dubbed mRNA-1273.351, designed to target the B.1.351 mutation first identified in South Africa, elicited neutralizing titers against the variant that were comparable to those produced against the original virus.
mRNA-1273.211, a combination of mRNA-1273.351 and Moderna’s already authorized vaccine, also increased neutralizing titers against variants.
The company said its results are preliminary. Moderna noted it would share updated data on efficacy against asymptomatic infection and the persistence of antibodies throughout the year.
Additional Studies Update: Phase 2/3 TeenCOVE study is fully enrolled with about 3,000 participants between the ages of 12 and 17 in the U.S. That trial will assess a 100 µg dose of the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Phase 2/3 KidCOVE study is still recruiting children between 6 months and 11 years old. The company hopes to enroll 6,750 healthy participants in the two-part dose-escalation study.
Supply Update: As of April 12, Moderna had shipped out 132 million doses globally, including about 117 million to the U.S.
Roughly 88 million doses were delivered to the U.S. in Q1, in addition to about 14 million elsewhere. Plans are in place to ramp up the company’s ex-US supply chain.
Moderna says it’s on track to deliver 100 million doses to the U.S. by the end of May and another 100 million by the end of July.
Price Action: MRNA shares are up 2.6% at $153.6 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.

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