Moderna to seek regulatory approval for Covid-19 vaccine in US and EU

Moderna will ask authorities in the US for Emergency Use Approval for its Covid-19 vaccine.

The request, which would be filed on Monday, followed unexpectedly very positive clinical trial results for its vaccine published over the preceding weeks.

A preliminary analysis involving 196 cases revealed that it was 94.1% effective in preventing the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, with none of the trial volunteers having developed the severe form of the sickness.

According to Moderna, America's drug regulator was set to analyse the data at a public meeting on 17 December, one week after a similar review of Pfizer's vaccine was expected to take place.

The company's chief executive officer, Stephane Bancel, added that Moderna was ready to start shipping the vaccine immediately.

"We have millions of doses ready, we have more and more every couple days," he added.

In parallel, the US biotechnology outfit was set to petition for conditional marketing authorisation in Europe.

As of 1311 GMT, shares of Moderna were jumping 11.31% to $141.45.