COVID-19

Coronavirus: Moderna responds to concerns surrounding its Covid-19 vaccine trial data

Moderna’s chairman is standing by the company’s data on its potential coronavirus vaccine. The chairman’s comments are in response to a report that raised a number of questions about the early-stage trial results and led to a volatile few days for the stock. CNBC’s Meg Tirrell reports.

Heavy hearts soared Monday with news that Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate — the frontrunner in the American market — seemed to be generating an immune response in Phase 1 trial subjects. The company’s stock valuation also surged, hitting $29 billion, an astonishing feat for a company that currently sells zero products.

But was there good reason for so much enthusiasm? Several vaccine experts asked by STAT concluded that, based on the information made available by the Cambridge, Mass.-based company, there’s really no way to know how impressive — or not — the vaccine may be.

While Moderna blitzed the media, it revealed very little information — and most of what it did disclose were words, not data. That’s important: If you ask scientists to read a journal article, they will scour data tables, not corporate statements. With science, numbers speak much louder than words.

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