Moderna Rises on $590M Federal Backing for mRNA Flu Vaccines.

(NASDAQ: MRNA) surged on Tuesday, gaining 5.75% to $36.02 with a session volume of 8.0 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The rally follows the company’s announcement of continued support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to accelerate the development of mRNA-based pandemic influenza vaccines.

The funding, provided through the Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) Consortium and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), will support Moderna’s late-stage development and licensure of pre-pandemic mRNA-based vaccines. Additionally, the agreement includes expanded clinical studies for up to five additional subtypes of pandemic influenza.

Moderna launched a Phase 1/2 study in 2023 to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of its investigational pandemic influenza vaccine (mRNA-1018) in healthy adults. Preliminary results from this study indicate promising data, prompting the company to prepare for Phase 3 trials. The company plans to present Phase 1/2 results at an upcoming scientific conference.

Source: GUARDIANGLOBE