After-Hours Alert: Why Moderna Stock Is Diving

Moderna Inc MRNA shares are trading lower in Thursday's after-hours session after the company released interim Phase 3 safety and immunogenicity results for mRNA-1010.

What Happened: mRNA-1010, the company's seasonal influenza vaccine candidate, was tested in Phase 3 randomized trial designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine in adults 18 years and older.

mRNA-1010 was found to be generally well-tolerated. 70% of mRNA-1010 recipients reported solicited adverse reactions (SARs) compared to 48% of participants in the active comparator group. A lower rate of SARs was observed in older age groups compared to the younger adult groups.

"While we did not achieve non-inferiority for the Influenza B strains which are more frequent in younger populations, we have already updated the vaccine that we believe could improve immune responses against Influenza B and will seek to quickly confirm those improvements in an upcoming clinical study thanks to the agility of our mRNA platform," said Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna.

There is a parallel study underway. The first protocol interim analysis of efficacy is expected to be reviewed by an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) before the end of the first quarter. Based on these results, the DSMB will notify the company whether the primary efficacy endpoint has been met or whether the study should continue accruing further cases toward the final analysis.

Moderna is a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines.

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MRNA Price Action: Moderna shares are down 6.4% after hours at $161.29 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Mufid Majnun from Pixabay.