Moderna's Zika Vaccine Gets FDA Fast Track Status, Shares Up 7%

(RTTNews) - Shares of Moderna Inc. (MRNA) jumped 7 percent in extended trading session after the clinical stage biotechnology company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track designation for its investigational Zika vaccine.

Moderna's mRNA-1893 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 study for the prevention of Zika virus infection in healthy adults. Fast Track is designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of therapies and vaccines for serious conditions and fill an unmet medical need.

"Protecting against Zika virus transmission, particularly in women during pregnancy, continues to be an area of high unmet need. Fast Track designation supports our belief in the clinical potential of mRNA-1893 and the importance of developing an effective vaccine that can be rapidly developed and deployed," said Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer at Moderna.

mRNA-1893 contains an mRNA sequence encoding for the structural proteins of Zika virus and is designed to cause cells to secrete virus-like particles, mimicking the response of the cell after natural infection.