Moderna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock points higher in premarket as it reported better than feared second quarter earnings
The mNRA vaccine maker reported a net loss of US$1.4 billion on US$300 million of revenue in its second quarter, representing a US$3.62 loss per share – versus market expectations of US$3.84 per share.
Chief executive Stéphane Bancel pointed to the ‘seasonal nature’ of Covid-19 as Moderna’s outlook forecast full year 2023 Covid-19 vaccine sales between US$6 billion and US$8 billion, depending on Covid vaccination rates in the US.
“I am pleased with the progress our U.S. commercial team has made to get new contracts in place for fall 2023,” Bancel said in the earnings statement.
Bancel, meanwhile, highlighted the company’s focus towards RSV – a separate cold-like infection that poses particular risk for the infants and the elderly – in which Moderna is advancing towards product launch in 2024, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
According to Moderna, its vaccine against RSV-associated diseases is backed by positive data showing vaccine efficacy of 83.7%.
Moderna is also advancing its clinical work alongside Merck in a Phase 3 trial of its ‘individualized neoantigen’ therapy, using mRNA, for high-risk melanoma.
"Our late-stage clinical pipeline is firing on all cylinders with four infectious disease vaccines in Phase 3, including RSV which was recently submitted to regulators for approval,” Bancel added.
“Our individualized neoantigen therapy is now in Phase 3 for melanoma and our lead rare disease program for PA is in dose confirmation.
“We believe that all these products should launch in 2024, 2025 or 2026, and we are continuing to invest in scaling Moderna to bring forward an unprecedented number of innovative mRNA medicines for patients."
Ahead of Thursday’s open, Moderna stock was trading US$4.63 or 4.2% higher changing hands at US114.85.