With COVID-19 getting deadlier and deadlier with each passing day, the need for a vaccine to take down the novel coronavirus is more important than ever.
Pharma companies are full speed ahead to deliver a vaccine to us as soon as possible and ahead in this race is US’ Moderna Inc.
In an official update, Moderna Inc has confirmed on Thursday that it will be finally commencing its Phase III trials starting July as it enters the final stage of testing.
As per a report by Reuters, the test will involve 30,000 test subjects. The company claims that the primary goal of the study would be to prevent symptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus. The second goal will be to denote its preventiveness to reduce the number of infections.
Moderna has revealed that it will be making use of a 100-microgram dose of the vaccine for the final stage study. They explained this choice of dosage is to maximise immune response in the body while also limiting the adverse effects and reactions that can surface.
Moderna has revealed that it will be making use of a 100-microgram dose of the vaccine for the final stage study. They explained this choice of dosage is to maximise immune response in the body while also limiting the adverse effects and reactions that can surface.
It claims to deliver around 500 million doses per year at a rate of 100 microgram dose. It also expects to boost this to up to 1 billion doses per year as 2021 rolls on from its own facility in the US as well as its most recent collaboration with Swiss drugmaker Lonza. It has also revealed that it has completed manufacturing enough doses for the Phase III trials.
In the mid-stage study, Moderna enrolled 3000 healthy individuals -- each dosed with at least one shot, as well as first 50 older adults from the age group of 18-54 years.
Testing the vaccine’s efficacy in older adults is crucial as that’s the group which is at a higher risk of contracting the novel coronavirus along with more severe effects of the virus. The mid-stage study is looking at the safety and initial effectiveness of two doses of the vaccine given 28 days apart.