Moderna advances pipeline with Phase II of AZD-8601

Moderna Therapeutics Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) said AZD-8601 will be its first program to advance into Phase II testing. This quarter, the company plans to begin a Phase IIa trial of the candidate, which is partnered with AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN), to treat an undisclosed indication. AZD-8601 is an mRNA-based therapy that encodes for vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A).

In a pipeline update Monday, Moderna also said its priorities this year will emphasize the discovery and development of rare disease candidates and prophylactic vaccine candidates. It unveiled two new preclinical compounds: mRNA-3927 to treat propionic acidemia; and mRNA-1944, which encodes an antibody to treat Chikungunya virus. ...