On November 30, 2020, Moderna, Inc., a biotechnology company that specializes in RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, announced that the primary efficacy analysis of the Phase 3 study of mRNA-1273 (Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidate) conducted on 196 cases confirms the high efficacy observed at the first interim analysis.
According to the data of researches a vaccine efficacy of 94.1%. “Safety data continue to accrue and the study continues to be monitored by an independent, NIH-appointed Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). The Company also announced that today, Moderna plans to request an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and conditional approval from the European Medicines Agency (EMA),” – was released in the article.
The Phase 3 Study
The COVE study, or the Phase 3 study, include more than 30,000 participants in the U.S. and is being conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“The primary endpoint of the Phase 3 COVE study is based on the analysis of COVID-19 cases confirmed and adjudicated starting two weeks following the second dose of vaccine. Vaccine efficacy has been demonstrated at the first interim analysis with a total of 95 cases based on the pre-specified success criterion on efficacy. Today’s primary analysis was based on 196 cases, of which 185 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 11 cases observed in the mRNA-1273 group, resulting in a point estimate of vaccine efficacy of 94.1%,” – Moderna said.
Then, the second endpoint analyzed severe cases of COVID-19 and included 30 severe cases in this analysis. All 30 cases occurred in the placebo group and none in the mRNA-1273 vaccinated group. There was one COVID-19-related death in the study to date, which occurred in the placebo group.
Efficacy was consistent across age, race and ethnicity, and gender demographics. The 196 COVID-19 cases included 33 older adults (ages 65+) and 42 participants identifying as being from diverse communities (including 29 Hispanic or LatinX, 6 Black or African Americans, 4 Asian Americans and 3 multiracial participants).
1 Billion Doses Of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine In 2021
Moderna is working with the U.S. CDC, Operation Warp Speed and McKesson, a COVID-19 vaccine distributor contracted by the U.S. government. By the end of 2020, the Company expects to have approximately 20 million doses of mRNA-1273 available in the U.S. The Company remains on track to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021.
Moderna will submit for an EUA with the U.S. FDA and an application for Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) with the European Medicines Agency. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) meeting to review the safety and efficacy data package for mRNA-1273 will likely be scheduled for Thursday, December 17.
“This positive primary analysis confirms the ability of our vaccine to prevent COVID-19 disease with 94.1% efficacy and importantly, the ability to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic and help prevent severe disease, hospitalizations and death,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
“I want to thank the thousands of participants in our Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 studies, as well as the staff at clinical trial sites who have been on the front lines of the fight against the virus. I would again like to thank our partners at NIH, NIAID, BARDA and Operation Warp Speed who have helped us advance the clinical development of mRNA-1273.
Finally, I want to thank the Moderna team and our suppliers and partners for their tireless work on the research, development and manufacturing of our vaccine. We will file today for an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA and continue forging ahead with the rolling reviews that have already been initiated with several regulatory agencies around the globe.”
