Moderna’s mRNA Vaccines show promise against all 8 studied viruses

Moderna’s mRNA Vaccines have shown promise against all 8 viruses studied in clinical trials.

Clinical stage biotech company Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), developing innovative messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, hosted its first Vaccines Day on April 14, with presentations demonstrating the potential advantages of mRNA vaccines.

The biotechnology company has shown neutralising immunogenicity against all 8 viruses studied in clinical trials using it’s revolutionary RNA vaccine platform.

Seven mRNA vaccines show neutralising immunogenicity

To date, Moderna has shown promising Phase 1 test readings for seven prophylactic vaccine candidates (H10N8, H7N9, RSV, chikungunya virus, hMPV / PIV3, CMV, and Zika). Presently the Moderna’s CMV vaccine candidate is in a Phase 2 dose-conformation clinical trial.

Moderna also announced recent promising interim Phase 1 results from its candidate for a Zika vaccine mRNA-1893. With these results, the Moderna prophylactic vaccine conceptual framework now has seven successful Phase 1 reports, including a two-virus combination vaccine (hMPV and PIV3; mRNA-1653).

The NIH-led Phase I study of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine candidate against COVID-19, continues on track with enrollment of participants at the highest dose. The U.S. Government Agency BARDA is promising up to $483 million to boost the production of Moderna’s COVID-19 experimental vaccine, the company announced on April 16. Under the agreement, BARDA will fund the advancement of mRNA-1273 to FDA licensure.

In its clinical trials, the Cambridge-based biotech has shown neutralising immunogenicity against all eight viruses studied to date.

Background to human viruses

In the United States, the vast majority of human viruses demand a commercially available vaccine. This deficit includes several long-known viruses, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV) (discovered in 1956), Zika (1962), and Epstein-Barr (EBV, 1964), and also includes many emerging novel viruses.

An average of two novel viruses that infect humans have been discovered annually since 1980. For instance, HIV 1 was discovered in 1983, Hepatitis C in 1989, H1N1 in 2009, and most notably SARS-CoV-2 in 2019.

Moderna’s vaccine programme has been tested with more than 1,400 volunteers in 10 clinical trials to date. Last month Moderna began it’s Phase 1 human clinical trial for its novel messenger RNA (mRNA-1273) COVID-19 vaccine in Seattle.

Moderna’s first-in-class mRNA vaccine candidates

Clinical results suggest that Moderna’s patented vaccine technology has typically been well-tolerated and can cause enduring immune responses to viral antigens.

The Company also claims it has shown the ability to incorporate integrated technologies, automated platforms and a scalable production framework to rapidly and efficiently advance a broad portfolio.

Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s Chief Executive Officer stated:

“We believe that our seven innovative first-in-class mRNA vaccine candidates provide a strong foundation for Moderna and offer a high probability of success when compared to other technologies. In the last several decades, 80 new pathogens have emerged, yet the vast majority of these viruses lack an approved vaccine in the U.S. We believe that vaccines offer a large total addressable market and an opportunity to reduce healthcare costs with a benefit to society through the prevention of devastating illnesses in areas of unmet need”
“The totality of data from our vaccines platform gives us reason to be optimistic about the prospects for our vaccines to come, including our vaccine against the novel coronavirus.”

Andrew Lo, Ph.D., Director of MIT’s Laboratory for Financial Engineering said:

“It’s critical for clinical researchers and biopharma investors to evaluate the probability of success when making scientific and economic decisions”
“After analyzing more than 185,000 clinical trials involving 21,000 compounds, we found that infectious disease vaccines have the highest probability of clinical success.”

This comprehensive research compared infectious disease vaccines to other therapeutic areas and concluded that vaccines for infectious diseases have an average of 33 percent chance of success, which rises to a 42 percent potential rate of effectiveness after a Phase 2 trial is conducted, which is the greatest of all therapeutic fields.

Moderna’s prophylactic vaccines modality

Earlier this year the biotechnology company designated prophylactic vaccines a key modality and is trying to speed up the growth of its vaccine pipeline. The Company’s prophylactic vaccines. were developed by Moderna’s experts to combat infectious diseases. More than 1,400 patients have been participating in Moderna’s infectious disease vaccine clinical studies under US, European and Australian health authorities.

The Company has designated prophylactic vaccines as a key modality focused on clinical evidence throughout seven Phase 1 clinical trials, and is working to boost the progress of its vaccine pipeline.

Moderna currently has nine development candidates in its prophylactic vaccines modality, including:

Vaccines against respiratory infections

  • Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults (mRNA-1777 and mRNA-1172 or V172 with Merck)
  • RSV vaccine for young children (mRNA-1345)
  • Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3) combination vaccine (mRNA-1653)
  • Novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine (mRNA-1273)
  • Influenza H7N9 (mRNA-1851)

Vaccines against infections transmitted from mother to baby

  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine (mRNA-1647)
  • Zika vaccine (mRNA-1893 with BARDA)

Vaccines against highly prevalent viral infections

  • Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vaccine (mRNA-1189)

More about Moderna, Inc.

Moderna is creating, independently and in collaboration with international partners, innovative treatments and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare disease and cardiovascular diseases.

The U.S company has 24 mRNA development candidates in all modalities in its portfolio, with 13 in clinical trials. Five of these projects are either in or in preparation for Phase 2 studies, and the company is currently scheduling its first Phase 3 clinical trials.

For more info please visit Moderna: https://www.modernatx.com/

Original Sources:

Moderna – Press Release April 14, 2020 – Moderna Highlights Opportunity of mRNA Vaccines at its First Vaccines Day

Moderna – Press Release April 16 – Moderna Announces Award from U.S. Government Agency BARDA for up to $483 Million to Accelerate Development of mRNA Vaccine (mRNA-1273) Against Novel Coronavirus