Moderna Inc. stock rose more than 1% in the extended session Wednesday after the biotechnology company said that a single-dose booster COVID-19 vaccine worked against the novel coronavirus’ variants, according to initial data from a Phase 2 study. The booster was effective against the variant first identified in South Africa and the variant first identified in Brazil, Moderna said. The company is submitting the preliminary results to peer-reviewed publication. “As we seek to defeat the ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to being proactive as the virus evolves. We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants,” Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. Moderna stock ended the regular trading day down 6%.
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