Biotech company Moderna Inc. on Sunday announced up to $472 million in additional federal funding for development of a COVID-19 vaccine. This is in addition to $483 million Moderna has already received from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company is believed to be the frontrunner in the race to market a vaccine to combat the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 650,000 people worldwide.<\/p>\n
\"Following discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and consultations with Operation Warp Speed over the past several months, the company has decided to conduct a significantly larger Phase 3 clinical trial, leaving a gap in BARDA funding that will be closed by this contract modification,\" a press release on Sunday stated. \"Under the terms of the revised contract, BARDA is expanding their support of the company's late stage clinical development of mRNA-1273, including the execution of a 30,000 participant Phase 3 study in the U.S.\"<\/p>\n
Phase 3, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial is expected to include approximately 30,000 participants. The total value of the award is now approximately $955 million, according to the company.<\/p>\n
\"Encouraged by the Phase 1 data, we believe that our mRNA vaccine may aid in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and preventing future outbreaks,\" Moderna CEO Stphane Bancel said in a statement. <\/p>\n
Moderna shares have soared more than 270% this year.<\/p>\n
\"Working together with collaborators like NIH, the Company hopes to achieve a shared goal that the participants in the COVE study are representative of the communities at highest risk for COVID-19 and of our diverse society,\" according to the press release.<\/p>\n
The Company remains on track to be able to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year.<\/p>\n
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Moderna to receive another $472 million from US for COVID-19 vaccine efforts - ModernHealthcare.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Biotech company Moderna Inc. Continue reading