With Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine candidate achieving an effectiveness rate of over 94% during the latest clinical trials, the biotech company completed a deal with the European Commission for the supply of at least 80 million doses of its vaccine, with the volume potentially amounting to 160 million depending on the circumstances.
This move sparked a 10.8% increase for Moderna’s stocks on Wednesday, putting them well above the 5% chase zone and helping them overcome previous news about Pfizer and BioNTech beating them to the pole position in the race for a vaccine.
This news comes after the United States government announced a day earlier that it would be approving the release of 6.4 million coronavirus vaccine doses as soon as a provider is able to secure clearance for the emergency distribution of the drug. It is largely suspected that Pfizer and BioNTech, who jointly submitted an emergency clearance for their vaccine, will be the winners of this contest.
Fortunately for Moderna, this news will likely be little more than a hiccup in the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company’s vaccine distribution. The biotech firm is still expected to release its vaccine in the United States as well as Europe sometime in the first quarter of 2021, pending its approval by the European Medicines Agency.
