LONDON: Moderna has announced that its flu vaccine exhibited a robust immune response against all four A and B strains of the influenza virus in a late-stage trial, outperforming traditional flu shots. This promising development led to a surge in Moderna’s stock price, with shares climbing approximately 6% during early trading.
According to Moderna, the efficacy of its flu vaccine was consistent across various age groups, including older individuals, and the vaccine was deemed safe and well-tolerated. Additionally, the company reported that its vaccine was either on par with or superior to Sanofi’s high-dose flu vaccine, as confirmed in a separate early head-to-head study.
The positive outcome of this trial positions Moderna to seek accelerated approval for its flu vaccine in the United States by year-end. If approved, the vaccine could potentially be launched during the 2024/2025 flu season, as suggested by Jefferies analyst Michael Yee.
Notably, Moderna had previously expressed uncertainty regarding the vaccine’s success, given that it initially failed to meet the “early-success” criteria in the study.
As of the morning trading session, Moderna’s stock was valued at $111.45.
Moderna to Reduce Manufacturing of COVID-19 Vaccine
In addition to the flu vaccine breakthrough, Moderna revealed its intention to reduce the manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine. The decision is in response to declining post-pandemic demand, aiming to align production capacity with the company’s target of achieving 75%-80% gross margin growth.
Moderna is currently in discussions with its global partners responsible for filling vials and syringes with its mRNA-based COVID vaccines to scale down production. This strategic shift acknowledges the transition to an endemic phase of the disease, which has led to reduced demand for COVID vaccines as orders decrease.
Moderna had previously forecasted a fall season demand of 50 million to 100 million doses of its COVID vaccine in the United States. In 2022, approximately 153.8 million COVID shots were administered in the United States, as reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Stephen Hoge, President of Moderna, emphasized that the company was prepared to restructure its manufacturing operations, which had been operating at full capacity during the pandemic. Following the recent authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Moderna has initiated shipments of COVID vaccine doses across the United States.
While Moderna has agreements to supply COVID vaccines to several countries, including the UK, Canada, and Japan, discussions with the European Union are still pending. Hoge clarified that COVID vaccine production remains the primary focus of Moderna’s agreement with China.
