Drug firm Moderna shares rise on Covid-19 final-stage  vaccine trial news  

Drugmaker's shares have more than tripled in value this year

More than 25,000 volunteers have received their second shot in Moderna's  trials for a Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: AP Photo/Hans Pennink

Moderna has completed enrolment of its 30,000 participants in its final-stage Covid-19 trial, while more than 25,000 volunteers have received their second shot. The announcement is another indication that vaccine trials are moving into their home stretch. 

Moderna has said it could get an initial readout on whether the vaccine works by late November. The drugmaker is only slightly behind Pfizer, which is working with German biotech BioNTech and expects results from its 44,000-person trial as soon as the end of this month. Moderna shares rose by over 4% in Thursday trade in New York, having more than tripled in value this year.