Moderna has been working closely with the National Institutes of Health since January to find a vaccine, including testing the vaccine on mice before moving on to human trials in March.
Massachusetts-based biotech company Moderna, one of the first drug companies to begin human trials for a COVID-19 vaccine, announced Monday that all the 45 patients who took part in the trials developed COVID-19 antibodies, fuelling enthusiasm that a safe and effective vaccine could soon be available.
The vaccine, referred to in scientific communities as mRNA-1273, was tested on male and female patients between the ages of 18 and 55 in March and April.
During phase one trials, the patients received two vaccine doses over a 28-day period at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington.
On day 43 of the trial, roughly two weeks after the second dose was administered, scientists noted patients developed antibodies consistent in patients who’ve recovered from the new coronavirus and producing neutralizing antibodies in at least eight patients, CNBC reported.
« When combined with the success in preventing viral replication in the lungs of a preclinical challenge model at a dose that elicited similar levels of neutralizing antibodies, these data substantiate our belief that mRNA-1273 has the potential to prevent COVID-19 disease and advance our ability to select a dose for pivotal trials, » Dr.
