Moderna Inc., a Massachusetts-based biotech company, on Monday reported positive interim data in the first phase of a coronavirus vaccine trial, saying some patients who were vaccinated developed antibodies at levels mirroring recovered COVID-19 patients.
The Phase 1 study included 45 people ages 18-55. The study was split so that 15 participants took a low dose, 15 took a mid-level dose, and 15 took a high dose.
Dr. Stephen Hoge, the company’s president, said 30 participants showed antibody levels that met or exceeded those found in recovered coronavirus patients.
“These interim Phase 1 data, while early, demonstrate that vaccination … elicits an immune response of the magnitude caused by natural infection starting with a dose as low as 25 [micrograms],” said Dr. Tal Zaks, the company’s chief medical officer.
The study is being conducted in concert with the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Hoge said eight subjects appeared to have gotten to the point where the antibodies could neutralize the virus and prevent its ability to infect human cells.
“We’re quite pleased with the breadth of the immune response so far,” Dr. Hoge said on “CBS This Morning.”
He said 45 people is a “relatively small number” but that the company will be looking at 600 people as part of a Phase 2 study that should start soon.
The company said it hopes to proceed to a Phase 3 trial in July.
“Our goal is to have a vaccine available for broad distribution by year-end or early next year,” Dr. Hoge said.
