Coronavirus: Moderna drug trials a shot in the arm in battle for vaccine

A coronavirus vaccine being developed by US company Moderna has shown early promise and is an ‘important first step’, the company says.

The Moderna headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Picture: AFP

A coronavirus vaccine being ­developed by US company Moderna has shown early promise and is an “important first step’’, the company has reported.

In a statement after a phase-one trial in humans, Moderna said the candidate vaccine, called mRNA-1273, ­appeared to generate an immune response similar to that seen in those who have recovered from ­infection.

The news sent Moderna’s share price rocketing 40 per cent. The jump came hours after the other highly rated vaccine prospect, the UK’s Oxford candidate, was ­revealed to have had no immunity response in monkey trials but some potential therapeutic effect in stopping pneumonia.

The trial by Moderna, based in Massachusetts, showed the vaccine was safe for young, healthy adults. The tests involved eight people who received different doses. Those who received a low (25 micrograms) or middle dose (100 micrograms) of two injections showed no side effects. Only one person who received 100 micrograms reacted to the vaccine with some redness at the injection site. Others who received one higher dose (250 micrograms) of the vaccine experienced fever but no life-threatening reactions. It appears the company will persist with trials using 50 micrograms.

“These interim phase-one data, while early, demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits an immune response of the magnitude caused by natural infection starting with a dose as low as 25 microgram,” said Moderna chief medical officer Tal Zaks.

A phase-two trial involving 600 volunteers has been given the go-ahead in the US.