Tens of thousands of volunteers will take part in the study, with results being reported as soon as November.
Moderna's experimental coronavirus vaccine built immunity in monkeys and protected them from becoming infected, according to the results of a new trial study.
Monkeys that received two-doses of the vaccination were protected from infections in the lungs and nose, according to the Cambridge-based bio-tech company's website.
Get top local stories in Boston delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Boston's News Headlines newsletter.
When given the vaccine, mRNA-1273, the monkeys showed a "robust immune response and protection," against COVID-19, the firm said. The results of the study were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Meanwhile, the biotech firm has begun its late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial, which involves testing out the shots on 30,000 volunteers.
“Given the similarity between the protective immune response generated by mRNA-1273 in this study and the immune response seen in humans in the recently published Phase 1 clinical data for the vaccine, we remain cautiously optimistic that mRNA-1273 will be able to prevent COVID-19 disease and may also slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 by shortening the duration of shedding," Moderna president Stephen Hoge said in a statement.
The company has said it remains on track to deliver between 500 million and 1 billion doses per year starting next year. The U.S. is aiming to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine for COVID-19 by early 2021.
Coronavirus Vaccine Development
Pharmaceutical companies are racing to win regulatory approval for potential coronavirus vaccines before the end of the year.
