Moderna announces vaccine efficacy of 94.1 per cent, to file for EUA with US FDA

Moderna announced that the primary efficacy analysis of the Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 conducted on 196 cases confirms the high efficacy observed at the first interim analysis. The data analysis indicates a vaccine efficacy of 94.1 per cent. Safety data continue to accrue and the study continues to be monitored by an independent, NIH-appointed Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). The company also announced that Moderna plans to request an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The Phase 3 study, known as the COVE study, enrolled more than 30,000 participants in the US and is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The company has already initiated the rolling review process with the EMA, Health Canada, SwissMedic, the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Ministry of Health in Israel, and Health Sciences Authority in Singapore and intends to seek Prequalification (PQ) and/or Emergency Use Listing (EUL) with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Additionally, Moderna announced that the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting to review the safety and efficacy data package for mRNA-1273 will likely be scheduled for Thursday, December 17. The Company expects that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will make a recommendation on immunization priorities. The Company anticipates that the shipping of mRNA-1273 to designated distribution points throughout the U.S. will occur shortly after an Emergency Use Authorisation is granted.

 “This positive primary analysis confirms the ability of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19 disease with 94.1 per cent efficacy and importantly, the ability to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic and help prevent severe disease, hospitalizations and death,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.

Moderna is working with the US CDC, Operation Warp Speed and McKesson, a COVID-19 vaccine distributor contracted by the US government, as well as global stakeholders to be prepared for the distribution of mRNA-1273, in the event that it receives an EUA and similar global authorizations and approvals. By the end of 2020, the Company expects to have approximately 20 million doses of mRNA-1273 available in the US. The company remains on track to manufacture 500 million to one billion doses globally in 2021.