Moderna shares rise 6% after the FDA reversed its decision not to review the flu vaccine

Following an earlier surge in pre-market trading, Moderna shares increased 6.4% to approximately $46.75 shortly after the market started on Wednesday.

After dividing its application by age and seeking full approval for those aged 50 to 64 and accelerated approval for those over 65, Moderna said that the FDA consented to study their novel flu vaccine, which is anticipated to be the first mRNA flu vaccine to hit the market.

Since the trial’s control group—the group of participants who did not receive the trial treatment—did not represent the «best standard of care available in the United States at the time of the study,» the agency informed Moderna that it would not accept its vaccine application because it lacked a «adequate and well-controlled trial.»

According to Moderna, the FDA set August 5 as the deadline for deciding whether to approve the vaccination. If approved, the medication would be accessible to senior citizens by the end of this year.