Moderna Vaccine. FDA Emergency Approval Application..."Immune Effectiveness Confirmed at 94.1%"

FDA Approval Review on the 17th... "Vaccination Possible from the 21st at the Earliest"
Advantageous in Delivery Compared to Pfizer Vaccine... Stock Price Surges Over 20%

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the American pharmaceutical company Moderna is expected to be administered as early as the 21st of this month. Moderna has applied for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moderna's stock price surged more than 20% on the day.

According to foreign media such as CNBC on the 30th (local time), Moderna announced that it has applied for emergency use authorization to the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), stating that the vaccine it developed showed 94.1% efficacy based on the analysis of immune response from its Phase 3 clinical trials.

Stefan Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said in an interview with The New York Times (NYT), "This immune response analysis confirms the vaccine's ability to prevent COVID-19, and we believe this vaccine will help prevent COVID-19," adding, "If the approval process proceeds quickly, we can start the first vaccinations on December 21."

In particular, Moderna's vaccine is expected to have an advantage over Pfizer's vaccine in terms of distribution, as its efficacy lasts about 30 days when stored at a frozen state of minus 20 degrees Celsius. Pfizer's vaccine must be shipped at an ultra-low temperature below minus 70 degrees Celsius.

The FDA is expected to expedite the approval process. It plans to hold a review for Moderna vaccine approval around the 17th of this month. Alex Azar, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said in an interview with CBS on the same day, "Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could be administered to the public before Christmas, and we plan to soon discuss the prioritization of vaccination recipients with governors." The FDA previously scheduled a review for Pfizer's emergency use authorization application on the 10th of this month.