Moderna Inc.'s (MRNA) stock soared 5.11% in after-hours trading on Friday following news that the company secured a $590 million award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of its mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.
The project will provide additional support for late-stage development and licensure of pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccines, including Moderna's investigational pandemic influenza vaccine candidate, mRNA-1018. The agreement will also fund the expansion of clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza, such as the H5N1 avian flu virus.
Moderna initiated a Phase 1/2 study in 2023 to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of mRNA-1018 in healthy adults, including vaccine candidates against H5 and H7 avian influenza viruses. Based on positive preliminary data from this study, the company is now preparing to advance mRNA-1018 into a Phase 3 trial.
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