Why Moderna Stock Soared Today
Shares of Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) surged 10.5% Wednesday after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began testing the drugmaker's experimental COVID-19 variant vaccine.
Moderna's new vaccine is designed to protect against a coronavirus strain first identified in South Africa. The worrisome mutation -- which scientists warn could spread faster than earlier versions of the virus and be more resistant to currently authorized vaccines -- has been detected in at least nine states in the U.S.
The NIH's phase 1 study will evaluate the drug's efficacy and safety profile among 210 healthy adult volunteers. These participants will include 60 people who took part in Moderna's original coronavirus vaccine trial, as well as 150 people who have not yet been vaccinated. The NIH expects the study to be fully enrolled by the end of April.
Source Fool.com
