Moderna announces IND submitted to US FDA for phase 2 study of mRNA-1273 against novel coronavirus

Moderna has received initial feedback from the FDA on the design of the planned Phase 2 study, which is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2020. This study will evaluate the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of two vaccinations of mRNA-1273 given 28 days apart. Each subject will be assigned to receive placebo, a 50 μg or a 250 μg dose at both vaccinations. The company intends to enroll 600 healthy participants across two cohorts of adults ages 18-55 years (n=300) and older adults ages 55 years and above (n=300). Participants will be followed through 12 months after the second vaccination.

“Submitting this IND is an important next step in the clinical development of our mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, and we are moving rapidly to potentially address this global health emergency,” said Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at Moderna. “We look forward to launching this Phase 2 study as soon as possible, which will provide important information about the safety, reactogenicity and immunogenicity of mRNA-1273.”

Subject to data from the Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies and discussions with regulators, a Phase 3 study could begin in the fall of 2020. Funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supported the planning for these studies and also will support the late-stage clinical development programs, as well as the scale-up of mRNA-1273 manufacturing.

“Safe, effective vaccines are critical to ending this pandemic and preventing future outbreaks of SARS-COV-2,” said BARDA Acting Director Gary Disbrow, Ph.D. “The next steps announced today for this particular vaccine highlight the value of collaboration among government agencies including BARDA and NIAID, and the private sector, to move vaccines and other medical countermeasures forward as rapidly as possible.”
An open-label Phase 1 study of mRNA-1273 is being conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under its own Investigational New Drug (IND) application. The Phase 1 study, which began on March 16, 2020, completed enrollment of 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years in the original three dose cohorts (25 µg, 100 µg and 250 µg). The study is enrolling an additional six cohorts: three cohorts of older adults (ages 56-70) and three cohorts of elderly adults (ages 71 and above). Data from the original cohort of healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years will be reported once available.

mRNA-1273 is an mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 encoding for a prefusion stabilized form of the Spike (S) protein, which was selected by Moderna in collaboration with investigators from Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the NIH. The first clinical batch, which was funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, was completed on February 7, 2020 and underwent analytical testing; it was shipped to NIH on February 24, 42 days from sequence selection. The first participant in the NIAID-led Phase 1 study of mRNA-1273 was dosed on March 16, 63 days from sequence selection to Phase 1 study dosing.

Source: Company Press Release