(Reuters) – Moderna Inc said on Monday it had dosed the first patients in an early-stage study of a new COVID-19 vaccine candidate for evaluation as a next-generation shot.
The company said its new candidate, mRNA-1283, could potentially be stored in refrigerators instead of freezers, making it easier to distribute, especially in developing countries.
The early-stage study will assess the safety and immunogenicity of mRNA-1283 at three dose levels, and will be given to healthy adults either as a single dose or in two doses 28 days apart, the company said.
Last week, Moderna began dosing the first participants in a study testing its COVID-19 booster vaccine candidates.
(The story corrects headline, first paragraph to remove reference to testing as a booster shot, makes clear Moderna is studying a new COVID-19 vaccine.)