Israeli Ministry of Health Authorizes COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna for Use in Israel
Israeli Ministry of Health Authorizes COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna for Use in Israel
January 4, 2021
Ministry of Health of Israel has secured 6 million doses and first deliveries expected to begin in January
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2021-- Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA
(mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced that Israel’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has given authorization to import the COVID-19 Vaccine
Moderna in Israel.
“Today’s authorization is a landmark moment in our company’s history and in the global fight against COVID-19,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief
Executive Officer of Moderna. “This is the third regulatory authorization for the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna, and its first outside of North America. I
want to thank the Ministry of Health of Israel for their efforts, as their team have worked tirelessly alongside ours to ensure a timely authorization of this
vaccine. We hope to continue to see authorizations in additional markets in the coming days, weeks and months.”
The MOH has secured 6 million doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna. Planned deliveries reflect today’s authorization to supply the vaccine in
Israel, and first deliveries are expected to begin shortly.
Israel is the third country for which Moderna has received authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, following the United States on December 18, 2020
and Canada on December 23, 2020. Additional authorizations are currently under review in the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland and the
United Kingdom.
The authorization is given according to Regulation 29 (A)(9): Medical product designated for pharmaceutical treatment of local citizens in case of
epidemic or contagious disease or protection from chemical or radioactive substances, according to Regulation 29 of the Pharmacists’ Regulations
(Medical preparations) – 1986.
The decision from the MOH is based on a rolling submission of data and is based on the totality of scientific evidence shared by the Company,
including a data analysis from the pivotal Phase 3 clinical study announced on November 30.
To learn more about Moderna’s work on mRNA-1273, visit www.modernatx.com/COVID19.
About the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is an mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 encoding for a prefusion stabilized form of the Spike (S) protein, which was
co-developed by Moderna and investigators from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’ (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center. The first
clinical batch, which was funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, was completed on February 7, 2020 and underwent
analytical testing; it was shipped to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on February 24, 42 days from sequence selection. The first participant in the
NIAID-led Phase 1 study of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine was dosed on March 16, 63 days from sequence selection to Phase 1 study dosing. On
May 12, the FDA granted the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Fast Track designation. On May 29, the first participants in each age cohort: adults ages
18-55 years (n=300) and older adults ages 55 years and above (n=300) were dosed in the Phase 2 study of mRNA-1273. On July 8, the Phase 2 study
completed enrollment.
Results from the second interim analysis of the NIH-led Phase 1 study of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in the 56-70 and 71+ age groups were
published on September 29 in The New England Journal of Medicine. On July 28, results from a non-human primate preclinical viral challenge study
evaluating the vaccine were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. On July 14, an interim analysis of the original cohorts in the NIH-led
Phase 1 study of the vaccine was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. On November 30, Moderna announced the primary efficacy
analysis of the Phase 3 study of the vaccine conducted on 196 cases. On November 30, the Company also announced that it filed for Emergency Use
Authorization with the U.S. FDA and a Conditional Marketing Authorization (CMA) with the European Medicines Agency. On December 3, a letter to
the editor was published in The New England Journal of Medicine reporting that participants in the Phase 1 study of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
retained high levels of neutralizing antibodies through 119 days following first vaccination (90 days following second vaccination) and on December 30,
interim safety and primary efficacy results from the Phase 3 trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. On December 18, 2020, the
FDA authorized the emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine in individuals 18 years of age or older.
Authorized Use
The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine has been authorized for emergency use in the U.S. by the FDA for active immunization to prevent coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 18 years of age and older, has
been authorized by Health Canada for the immunization of Canadians 18 years of age and older under an Interim Order and now authorization to
import by Israel. Moderna has submitted the final Conditional Marketing Authorization Application (CA) following rolling submissions with the European
Medicines Agency (EMA) and several other regulatory agencies around the world.
About Moderna
Moderna is advancing messenger RNA (mRNA) science to create a new class of transformative medicines for patients. mRNA medicines are
designed to direct the body’s cells to produce intracellular, membrane or secreted proteins that can have a therapeutic or preventive benefit and have
the potential to address a broad spectrum of diseases. The company’s platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science,
delivery technology and manufacturing, providing Moderna the capability to pursue in parallel a robust pipeline of new development candidates.
Moderna is developing therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune
and inflammatory diseases, independently and with strategic collaborators.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Moderna currently has strategic alliances for development programs with AstraZeneca PLC and Merck & Co.,
Inc., as well as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, and BARDA. Moderna has
been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past six years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended,
including regarding: the Company’s development of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the potential for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to
prevent COVID-19 disease and slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and plans for the supply and distribution of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to the
Israeli Government. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “could”, “expects,”
“intends,” “plans,” “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable
terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither
promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others: the fact that there has
never been a commercial product utilizing mRNA technology approved for use; the fact that the rapid response technology in use by Moderna is still
being developed and implemented; the safety, tolerability and efficacy profile of mRNA-1273 observed to date may change adversely in ongoing
analyses of trial data or subsequent to commercialization; despite having ongoing interactions with the FDA or other regulatory agencies, the FDA or
such other regulatory agencies may not agree with the Company’s regulatory approval strategies, components of our filings, such as clinical trial
designs, conduct and methodologies, or the sufficiency of data submitted; Moderna may encounter delays in meeting manufacturing or supply
timelines or disruptions in its distribution plans for mRNA-1273; whether and when any biologics license applications and/or emergency use
authorization applications may be filed and ultimately approved by regulatory authorities; potential adverse impacts due to the global COVID-19
pandemic such as delays in regulatory review, manufacturing and clinical trials, supply chain interruptions, adverse effects on healthcare systems and
disruption of the global economy; and those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s most recent
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the
SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for
updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise.
These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.
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