Moderna Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) said its COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the UK and South African variants following analysis in the lab.
The biotech firm said in-vitro tests using blood samples from individuals who already got the jab showed activity against emerging strains of the virus, producing a neutralising effect.
Moderna also announced its clinical strategy to address the pandemic as the virus continues to evolve.
It will test an additional booster dose of its COVID-19 inoculation to further study its ability to increase antibodies, while it is also advancing an emerging variant booster candidate against the South African variant in preclinical studies and then in the initial stage of trials "out of an abundance of caution"
Merck drops candidates
US giant Merck's COVID-19 vaccine candidates had a different fate after provoking "inferior" immune responses compared to other rivals.
The firm discontinued the development and said it continues to advance clinical programs and to scale-up manufacturing for two investigational medicines with antiviral effects, MK-7110 and MK-4482 (molnupiravir).
Among the big names, GlaxoSmithKline PLC (LON:GSK) and French rival Sanofi said last month their candidate would be available in the fourth quarter of this year after some disappointing Phase 1/2 study interim results, while Johnson & Johnson expects to announce topline Phase 3 data for its single-dose jab later this month.
Shares in Moderna shot up 9% to US$142.76 on Monday at the opening bell, while Merck dipped 1% to US$80.34.
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