Here's Why Moderna Only Released Limited Phase 1 Data for Its Novel Coronavirus Vaccine

At drug companies, when new clinical trial data becomes available, there's typically a tug-of-war between the scientists and the investors. The people doing the research and development want to hold onto their data until it's properly ready for publication because most of the premier journals won't publish data that's been previously reported. Investors, on the other hand, want to see the data as soon as possible because it affects the prospects for the company.

The compromise is usually that some top-line data gets released early, but not nearly enough to satisfy investors. Such was the case for Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) when it released data for just eight of the 45 participants in the phase 1 clinical trial testing its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, mRNA-1273.