Moderna to Provide Israel With 4 Million More Vaccine Doses

Moderna  (MRNA) - Get Report will be delivering four million more doses of its covid-19 vaccine to Israel, on top of two million already supplied, according to a company statement.

The Cambridge, Mass., drugmaker already had begun the review process with the ministry and was awaiting review for emergency-use authorization in the U.S.

On Monday, Moderna said that its late-stage, or Phase 3, trial of its vaccine in 196 cases confirmed a 94.1% efficacy rate, nearing the 95% threshold reported by Pfizer  (PFE) - Get Report for its vaccine. The Phase 3 trial involves more than 30,000 participants.

The company also noted that its product can last as long as six months when stored at standard freezer temperatures of minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit, compared with the minus-94 degree temperature the Pfizer vaccine requires.

Moderna also said that it was working to increase manufacturing to deliver around 500 million doses of its vaccine a year, and perhaps up to 1 billion doses a year, starting in 2021.

Moderna shares had surged to a record on Tuesday after the biotech filed for marketing approval from European health authorities for its coronavirus vaccine

The company, which on Monday reported a 100% efficacy rate against severe forms of covid-19 from late-stage trials of its mRNA-based vaccine, will likely get a decision from the European Medicines Agency on Jan. 12, officials indicated.

 A similar application was made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech  (BNTX) - Get Report earlier Tuesday, with the EMA indicating a final verdict on Dec. 29.

Moderna on Monday filed its application for emergency use with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with an assessment scheduled for Dec. 17.