- Moderna Inc is racing to test its COVID-19 vaccine amid fierce competition.
- Rising coronavirus cases in the northern hemisphere put more emphasis on the need for immunization.
- NASDAQ: MRNA has tumbled down in the last trading session but is st to rise on Monday.
Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is at the forefront of the global fight against coronavirus. The Massachusets-based firm is busy with its Phase 3 test of a COVID-19 vaccine and hopes to publish results as early as November.
Moderna was one of the first pharma firms to delve into the ambitious project and has also been able to raise funds for these efforts. However, a handful of serious rivals is also making progress and that may hurt the company run by Stéphane Bancel.
The most significant competition comes from the UK – the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca are also engaged in Phase 3 testing and have recently announced that they are accelerating their efforts to approve a vaccine. The firm has opened its preliminary data to regulators in Britain and will allow a "rolling review" of the developments. However, the project was halted earlier in the year due to safety concerns.
Pfizer is another significant rival which is aiming to announce results as soon as possible. The pharma giant is conducting a wide trial of its immunization candidate and seemed to miss its own deadline for announcing progress. Other advanced projects come from Johnson&Johnson, Novavax, and Inovio.
While Moderna has other products in its arsenal – including those related to drug discovery – the main mover is covid.
Europe is experiencing a severe second wave of coronavirus cases, triggering lockdown announcements in France, Germany – and now the UK. The urgency to develop a vaccine may lift all companies involved in such projects. Moreover, there may be a need for more than one immunization amid production and distribution bottlenecks.
To top it off, even if Moderna is not the first Western country to register a vaccine, the genuine test for such a treatment is beyond the trials. Phase 3 involves 30,000 people, some of whom only get the placebo. Administering millions of vaccines could raise other issues with competitive immunizations, leaving Moderna with from to rise even if it fails to reach the finish line first.
MRNA Stock News
NASDAQ: Moderna dropped sharply on Friday, falling by over 5% to close at $67.47. It is set to rise by 1.5% to $68.52 according to pre-market trading data. It is essential to note that these moves are in line with the broader market moves. The upside target is $95.21, the 52-week high.
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