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MRNA Stock Hikes 15% as Moderna Gets $483M Funding to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine

After announcing on Thursday that they received $483 million funding to speed up the development of coronavirus vaccine, shares of Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) started rising. MRNA stock hiked 15%. Following the announcement of the received fund Moderna stock hit an all-time intraday high of $49.

The firm’s CEO Stephane Bancel said in an interview that the funds were necessary to aid manufacturing efforts. “Instead of waiting for the data and then scaling up manufacturing process … we can make as many doses as we can. We are doing both in parallel,” Bancel said.

Moderna also plans to employ 150 more hands. Bancel said the company “couldn’t have done this” without the funding commitment from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Moderna currently leads in the race of getting a vaccine ready for the coronavirus pandemic. It is followed by China’s CanSino Biologics. CanSino Biologics announced it received approval to start a phase 1 trial a day after Moderna started.

After partnering with the NIH ( the National Institutes of Health) on the development of its COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna began Phase 1 human trials of its potential vaccine on March 16 in the Seattle area.

According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House health advisor, he said the trial was launched at recorded speed. Moderna, however, said that it plans to begin a Phase 2 study in the second quarter of 2020. After that, Phase 3 testing starts in the fall of 2020.

The Phase 1 trial is being conducted with 45 people. Phase 2 would involve expansion into “hundreds of healthy subjects,” Bancel said. According to Bancel, if all trial phases go well, they hope the vaccine gets ready in the U.S. market by 2021.

With the ravaging effect of the coronavirus on the global economy, Moderna is set for global rewards if it wins the coronavirus vaccine race. The firm will also stand a high chance of being the first or second to hit the market. If that its achieved, its commercial reward will be bountiful.

More importantly, for this clinical-stage company, approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine would validate the company’s technology. More than 20 candidates in Moderna’s pipeline are based on harnessing the power of messenger RNA (mRNA). These RNA carries instructions from DNA to the part of our cells producing proteins our bodies need to function.

Also, as news about Moderna potential coronavirus vaccine continues to hit the headlines, its stock has continued to get better, enjoying good backing from investors. On Friday, Moderna stock closed at $46.85, surging by 15.39%.

MRNA Stock Hikes 15% as Moderna Gets $483M Funding to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine

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