What happened
Coronavirus stock Modern (NASDAQ: MRNA) rose nearly 8% in Thursday’s mid-afternoon negotiations. Two news stories about the company’s coronavirus vaccine appear to support this increase.
And
The first is Moderna’s announcement that the participants’ dosing began in a phase 1/2 clinical trial for mRNA-1273 in Japan. This study, which is being conducted by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda (NYSE: TAK), intends to enroll 200 people aged 20 or over.
Image source: Getty Images.
If the vaccine proves to be as effective as in tests in other parts of the world, it will certainly be authorized for use in the country, which is home to more than 127 million people. Takeda has agreed to distribute 50 million doses if and when authorization occurs.
The second news comes from the United States. On Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that it was safe to use vaccines from a batch that was examined after several people developed allergic reactions to the batch’s initial doses. After that incident, the state stopped the vaccinations of the batch.
What now
Given the performance of mRNA-1273 in previous tests, it is almost a foregone conclusion that it will succeed in the Japanese study. And, as it is a two-dose vaccine, Japan will need much more than the initial 50 million doses that make up the current Moderna / Takeda agreement. The resumption of dosing of the affected batch in California also portends a continuous high demand for the vaccine.