Moderna Inc. (MRNA) shares dropped more than 5% in after-hours trading Thursday, after the company announced that a study into a flu vaccine candidate failed to reach one of its goals. The news sent shockwaves through the market, as Moderna has been a leader in the development of mRNA technology.
Moderna said that the candidate accomplished superiority in two goals and non-inferiority in another, but did not reach the non-inferiority standard on the other goal of the study. The goal was to create a vaccine that was effective against both Influenza A and B strains, but the Moderna vaccine was not effective against the Influenza B strain, which is more common in younger populations.
Despite the setback, Moderna President Stephen Hoge remained optimistic about the company’s prospects. “While we did not achieve non-inferiority for the Influenza B strains which are more frequent in younger populations, we have already updated the vaccine that we believe could improve immune responses against Influenza B and will seek to quickly confirm those improvements in an upcoming clinical study thanks to the agility of our mRNA platform,” Hoge said in a statement.
The setback is a blow to Moderna, which has been one of the leading companies in the development of mRNA technology. mRNA technology is an innovative approach to vaccine development that uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, to create vaccines. mRNA works by delivering genetic instructions to cells to produce proteins that can then be used to create vaccines. This technology has the potential to revolutionize vaccine development and make it much faster and more efficient.
Moderna shares are up 13.5% in the past 12 months, despite the setback, as the S&P 500 index (SPX) has declined 7.3%. The company’s success in the past year has been largely due to its mRNA technology, which has been used to develop a successful Covid-19 vaccine. The setback with the flu vaccine, however, shows that there is still much work to be done before mRNA technology can be used to develop vaccines for other diseases.
Despite the setback, Moderna remains optimistic that it can use its mRNA technology to create a successful flu vaccine. The company is already working on an updated version of the vaccine that it believes could improve immune responses against Influenza B. If successful, the vaccine could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the flu. Moderna’s mRNA technology could also be used to develop vaccines for other diseases, such as HIV and malaria, which have so far been difficult to develop a vaccine for.
Moderna’s setback with the flu vaccine is a reminder that vaccine development is a complex and difficult process. Despite the setback, the company remains optimistic that its mRNA technology can be used to develop a successful vaccine. If successful, the vaccine could be a major breakthrough in the fight against the flu and other diseases.
