(Bloomberg) -- Moderna Inc. fell the most in nearly a month after data on the company's RSV vaccine showed it may not protect people as long as competing shots.
Follow-up data from Moderna's late-stage trial suggests that its “efficacy is declining quicker” than RSV vaccines from GSK Plc and Pfizer Inc., Cowen analyst Tyler Van Buren said in a note on Thursday.
Moderna shares fell as much as 7.7% to $86.41 a share in New York on Friday, their biggest decline since Jan. 16. The stock has declined 47% over the past year.
The new data means the durability of Moderna's shot “will be in question,” said Michael Yee, an analyst at Jefferies. However, Yee said he doesn't think the results hurt the chances the vaccine will get approved. He also said consumers will probably still get the shot.
Moderna is expecting to get its RSV vaccine cleared by US regulators this year. The shot to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, which infects the lungs and breathing passages, would be the company's second commercial product.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is looking to RSV to boost sales as revenue from its Covid shot declines. The company has said its vaccine has a competitive advantage because it's the only RSV shot that comes in a pre-filled syringe, making it simpler for pharmacists to administer.
In a statement, Moderna said it's “encouraged by the strong competitive profile” for its RSV vaccine. It added that it's not possible to compare the safety and efficacy of its RSV shot with others without head-to-head clinical trials because the research differs in study populations and geographic locations, among other things.
Moderna's share decline Friday is also likely due to a hearing involving a Covid vaccine patent dispute that the company is having with Arbutus Biopharma. If the court doesn't decide in Moderna's favor, the company could end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties to Arbutus, according to Tish Walker, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
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