Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) stock is trading higher on Friday in reaction to a surge in Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA).
Bloomberg noted that Moderna said it is conducting early-stage research into vaccines targeting hantaviruses, even as health experts suggest the virus linked to recent cruise ship deaths is unlikely to become a broader public health threat.
The COVID-19 vaccine maker confirmed it has been working with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases on hantavirus vaccine research.
"These efforts are early-stage and ongoing and reflect Moderna's broader responsibility to develop countermeasures against emerging infectious diseases," the company told Bloomberg.
In September 2024, the Vaccine Innovation Center at Korea University College of Medicine (VIC-K, Director Heejin Cheong) entered into a full-scale collaboration with global pharmaceutical company Moderna to develop an mRNA-based hantavirus vaccine.
Since signing a research agreement, the two institutions have collaborated through Moderna’s global public health initiative, the mRNA Access Program.
WHO Identifies Multiple Cases
The World Health Organization has identified at least six confirmed hantavirus cases and two suspected infections linked to the outbreak. Three additional passengers have died, according to the report.
Hantaviruses are typically spread through contact with infected rodents and can cause severe respiratory illness in humans.
On Thursday, Moderna said Phase 3 results for its mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine candidate, mRNA-1010, were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing it met the study’s prespecified superiority criterion versus a licensed standard-dose seasonal influenza vaccine in adults 50 and older.
The company reported a relative vaccine efficacy of 26.6% overall, including 29.6% for A/H1N1, 22.2% for A/H3N2, and 29.1% for the B/Victoria lineage, with 27.4% efficacy in participants 65 and older.
Novavax reported quarterly sales of $139.51 million, beating the $78.32 million estimate.
The company reported a net loss of $9 million, compared to net income of $519 million a year ago.
First quarter of 2025 net income benefited from $603 million of non-cash sales related to the close-out of two APA agreements.
NVAX Price Action: Novavax shares were up 13.16% at $10.44 at the time of publication Friday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Over the past month, NVAX has gained about 8.5% versus a 9.0% rise in the S&P 500 and is up roughly 38% year-to-date compared to the index’s 7.5% gain.
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