Moderna's Stock Jumps After Coronavirus Vaccine Shows Positive Results In Phase 1 Clinical Trial

Moderna Inc MRNA is getting a big boost in Tuesday's after-hours session following a positive development on the company's coronavirus vaccine.

What Happened? Moderna's vaccine drug shows "induced anti–SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in all participants, and no trial-limiting safety concerns were identified. These findings support further development of this vaccine."

The 45 enrolled participants in the Phase 1 clinical trial of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine received their first vaccination between March 16 and April 14, 2020.

Why It's Important: "Moderna had previously released some results in a press release, but many experts said they were not sufficient to draw many conclusions," according to Stat News. "Even now, many are withholding judgment."

"It certainly is a good beginning," Betty Diamond, director at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, told Stat News. "There are certainly lots of things we don’t know yet right now."

Moderna says it remains on track to deliver approximately 500 million doses of the vaccine per year beginning in 2021.

What's Next? A phase 2 trial of mRNA-1273 in 600 healthy adults is ongoing. A large Phase 3 efficacy trial is anticipated to begin during the summer of 2020, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

Moderna's stock was higher by 17% to $88.26 in the after-hours session. The stock opened the year trading around the $18 level.

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