Seasonal flu vaccine program will cover four seasonal viruses recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)

HIV vaccine program to accelerate human validation of novel vaccination strategies

Nipah vaccine program established against a virus of public health concern

Moderna now has one commercial medicine and 24 development programs

Multiple therapeutic programs anticipated to see clinical proof of concept data in 2021

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced that it is expanding its pipeline of innovative vaccines with three new development programs based on the clinical success of its infectious disease vaccine portfolio to date. This announcement reflects the Company’s commitment to accelerating its infectious disease portfolio based on Moderna’s experience with its COVID-19 vaccine. The development programs announced today are mRNA vaccine candidates against seasonal flu, HIV and the Nipah virus. Moderna also announced an expansion of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program into older adults.

“The uniquely challenging year of 2020 for all of society proved to be an extraordinary proof-of-concept period for Moderna,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer. “Even as we have shown that our mRNA-based vaccine can prevent COVID-19, this has encouraged us to pursue more-ambitious development programs within our prophylactic vaccines modality. Today we are announcing three new vaccine programs addressing seasonal flu, HIV and the Nipah virus, some of which have eluded traditional vaccine efforts, and all of which we believe can be addressed with our mRNA technology. Beyond vaccines, we are extending our mRNA development work to a total of 24 programs across five therapeutic areas.”

Mr. Bancel will present an update on the Company and its pipeline of mRNA development programs on Monday, January 11, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. ET at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer session. A live webcast of both the presentation and question and answer session will be available under “Events & Presentations” in the investors section of Moderna’s website at investors.modernatx.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on Moderna’s website for 30 days following the presentation.

Moderna currently has 24 mRNA development programs in its portfolio with 13 having entered the clinic. The Company’s updated pipeline can be found at www.modernatx.com/pipeline.

About Moderna’s New Infectious Disease Vaccine Development Programs

• Flu vaccine (mRNA-1010, mRNA-1020, mRNA-1030): Seasonal flu (type A and type B) epidemics occur seasonally and vary in severity each year, causing respiratory illnesses and placing substantial burden on healthcare systems. The WHO estimates globally about 3,000,000-5,000,000 severe cases of flu each year, and 290,000-650,000 flu-related respiratory deaths. Approximately 8% of the U.S. population experiences symptoms from flu each year in the US, with 140,000-810,000 hospitalizations and 12,000-61,000 deaths per year. Peak flu activity is seen in temperate climates from fall to winter and is reflected in increases in outpatient visits, urgent care visits, and hospitalizations. In the U.S., the estimated average economic burden of flu is approximately $11 billion per year. The Company plans to explore potential combination vaccines against flu, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and human metapneumovirus (hMPV).The Company’s first-generation flu program will evaluate multiple candidates comprising multiple antigen combinations against the four seasonal viruses recommended by the WHO. The Company expects to begin phase 1 clinical trials for the program in 2021.
• HIV vaccine (mRNA-1644 & mRNA-1574): HIV is the virus responsible for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a lifelong, progressive illness with no effective cure. Approximately 38 million people worldwide are currently living with HIV with 1.2 million in the U.S. Approximately 2 million new infections of HIV are acquired worldwide every year and approximately 690,000 people die annually due to complications from HIV/AIDS. The primary routes of transmission are sexual intercourse and IV drug use, putting young adults at the highest risk of infection. From 2000 to 2015, a total of $562.6 billion globally was spent on care, treatment and prevention of HIV, representing a significant economic burden. mRNA-1644, a collaboration with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), is a novel approach to HIV vaccine strategy in humans designed to elicit broadly Neutralizing HIV-1 Antibodies (bNAbs). A Phase 1 study for mRNA-1644 will use iterative human testing to validate the approach and antigens and multiple novel antigens will be used for germline-targeting and immuno-focusing. A second approach, mRNA-1574, is being evaluated in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and includes multiple native-like trimer antigens. The Company expects to begin phase 1 clinical trials for both mRNA-1644 and mRNA-1574 in 2021.
• Nipah virus (NiV) Vaccine (mRNA-1215): NiV is a zoonotic virus transmitted to humans from animals, contaminated food, or through direct human-to-human transmission and causes a range of illnesses including fatal encephalitis. Severe respiratory and neurologic complications of NiV have no treatment other than intensive supportive care. The case fatality rate among those infected is estimated at 40-75%. NiV outbreaks cause significant economic burden to impacted regions due to loss of human life and interventions to prevent further spread, such as the slaughter of infected animals. NiV has been identified as the cause of isolated outbreaks in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Singapore since 2000 and is included on the WHO R&D Blueprint list of epidemic threats needing urgent R&D action. mRNA-1215 was co-developed by Moderna and the NIH’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC).

Moderna’s pipeline is organized into six modalities based on similar mRNA technologies, delivery technologies and manufacturing processes. The Company’s approach is to leverage early programs within a modality to generate clinical data and insights that reduce the technology risk of subsequent programs and accelerate the expansion of the pipeline in that modality. Positive phase 1, 2 and 3 data from Moderna’s infectious disease vaccine portfolio and positive phase 1 data from its chikungunya antibody program have de-risked its prophylactic vaccines and systemic therapeutics & cell surface modalities respectively. Beyond these core modalities, the Company has four exploratory modalities in which it is actively pursuing clinical proof of concept.

Summary of Program Updates by Modality:

Core Modalities

Prophylactic Vaccines: Moderna is developing vaccines against viral diseases where there is unmet medical need – including complex vaccines with multiple antigens for common diseases, as well as vaccines against threats to global public health. The Company’s global public health portfolio is focused on epidemic and pandemic diseases and often developed in collaborations with governments and non-profit organizations.

Vaccines requiring complex antigens and against highly prevalent infections

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine (mRNA-1647): Positive interim data from the phase 2 study assessing the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity of different dose levels of mRNA-1647 were presented at Moderna’s annual R&D Day. Based on the interim analysis of the phase 2 study, the 100 μg dose has been chosen for the phase 3 pivotal study, which is expected to begin this year. Moderna owns worldwide commercial rights for mRNA-1647.

• Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vaccine (mRNA-1189): mRNA-1189 is a vaccine against EBV containing five mRNAs that encode viral proteins (gp350, gB, gp42, gH and gL) in EBV. Similar to Moderna’s CMV vaccine (mRNA-1647), the viral proteins in mRNA-1189 are expressed in their native membrane-bound form for recognition by the immune system. There is no approved vaccine for EBV. Moderna owns worldwide commercial rights to mRNA-1189.

Vaccines against respiratory infections

• Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (mRNA-1273) authorization: On December 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine against COVID-19, in individuals 18 years of age or older. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is also authorized by Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Additional authorizations are currently under review in additional markets including Singapore, Switzerland and by the WHO. On December 30, interim safety and primary efficacy results from the Phase 3 trial of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (mRNA-1273) were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The primary endpoint of the Phase 3 COVE study was based on the analysis of COVID-19 cases confirmed and adjudicated starting two weeks following the second dose of vaccine. This final analysis was based on 196 cases, of which 185 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus 11 cases observed in the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine group, corresponding to a 94% vaccine efficacy (95% CI 89.3-96.8%; p