Fire and Police Department first responders will receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in Lawrence, MA.
Pat Greenhouse / The Boston Globe through Getty Images
M.Oderna, one of the companies with the first authorized vaccine for Covid-19, announced on Monday that it has entered into Advanced Purchase Agreements with several countries to the tune of $ 11.7 billion in 2021 if the company delivers the promised doses of her vaccine. The company already has $ 2.8 billion in investments for future vaccine delivery, and aims to produce between 600 million and 1 billion vaccines this year. “I believe 2021 is going to be an inclusive year in Moderna’s history,” CEO Stephane Bancel told the audience at JP Morgan Healthcare’s annual Conference. The company plans to continue researching the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in young children, pregnant women and people receiving vaccinations.
The MA-based company has announced three new vaccine programs against other diseases, several of which are being developed by the team of Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health. These include vaccines for the rare Nipah virus, as well as vaccines for HIV that will go into human testing this year.
It is clear that Moderna is now one of the leading power centers in the development of infectious disease vaccines. In 2019 the company ended the year with a market cap of around $ 6 billion. Just 12 months later, the company now has a market potential of more than $ 46 billion and an additional 500 employees. But that doesn’t mean there are no obstacles ahead. New changes to Covid-19 mean the company may need to swap its vaccine quickly, and calls have begun for the company to release half-dose versions of the vaccine so that more people can faster vaccination, although there are concerns that this may not be as effective. In response to whether the company intends to test half a dose of the vaccine, Chief Scientific Officer Tal Zaks says, “We are advocating for the data to be followed and the science to be followed, ”Which does not currently provide evidence that half of the dose formation is immune to Covid-19.
It has been a wild turn of luck for a company whose stock traded at $ 4 a share in January 2020 and ended at $ 116.48 on Monday’s close.
N.Ovavax, a small biotech company based in Maryland, hopes that 2021 will be the year it reaches the major leagues in the global race for the Covid-19 vaccine. While Pfizer, its partner BioNTech, and Moderna received the first vaccine authorization with mRNA technology, Novavax is hot on their heels with a different choice. Although Novovax has yet to bring vaccines to market, the company has received $ 2 billion in funding from the Consortium for Epidemic Preparatory Innovations (CEPI), the Department of Defense and Operation Warp Speed. The vaccine contains copies of the “spike protein,” found in the virus that causes Covid-19, along with a stimulant, which helps stimulate immune responses. This basically “trains” the immune system to recognize the virus, and is a similar approach to vaccines for shingles and HPV.
Novavax CEO Stan Erck said he expects data from his Level 2B test in South Africa and his Level 3 test in the UK “within a few weeks,” at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference on Monday. The company has started a Phase 3 test in the U.S. and Mexico enrolling participants at a “very fast pace” and expects data in the second quarter, Erck said. This would pave the way for emergency use approval from the FDA so that the company could begin distributing their vaccine.
The UK and South Africa also occur where researchers have discovered different strains of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. These variables have raised concerns among public health officials as research shows they are more contagious than previously known strains. The location of these tests allows the company to determine how to vaccinate against these mutations. For now, Novovax “feels very comfortable that our vaccine should work well” said R&D president Greg Glenn. The company had previously dealt with flu vaccine-related mutations and found “no effect on immunogenicity” in tests, Glenn said.
O.one of the potential changes for the Novavax vaccine candidate is that it can navigate and store at normal cooling temperatures (2 to 8 ° C), compared to the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that require freezing temperatures. Novavax plans to deliver 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. as part of Operation Warp Speed in the second quarter, Erck said. The company is also in partnership with the Serum Institute in India, and Erck plans to produce 2 billion vaccines annually once full manufacturing is complete.
It has been a wild turn of luck for a company whose stock traded at $ 4 a share in January 2020 and ended at $ 116.48 on Monday’s close, with a market cap above $ 7.4 billion. Since last year, four Novovax executives have sold $ 46 million worth of stock, according to a study by Reuters published on Monday. “Our leaders are confident in the value and potential of our vaccines and are committed to contributing to the eradication of COVID-19 pandemic disease and improving public health worldwide. , ”The company told Reuters in response.