Moderna (MRNA) stock jumped early Thursday after confirming the U.S. government is nearing a deal to fund its messenger RNA-based pandemic bird flu vaccine.
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The news comes amid growing concerns about the H5 bird flu, which has shown up on egg farms in 48 states and in dairy cows in nine states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies the public health risk as low, but two dairy workers tested positive for the virus over the last two months.
A Moderna spokeswoman confirmed the company is in discussions with the U.S. government to move forward with the pandemic flu candidate, dubbed mRN-1018. The company has already finished dosing healthy participants in a Phase 1 and Phase 2 study. Data are expected soon.
“The H5 vaccines in this trial cover the same clade as the currently circulating variant in the United States,” she said in an email to Investor’s Business Daily. “We remain committed to using our mRNA platform to respond to public health concerns.”
Pfizer (PFE), which is also testing a pandemic flu vaccine, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
In premarket trades, Moderna stock rose 1.8% to 150.60. Pfizer stock inched a fraction ahead to 27.87.
More to follow.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
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