Moderna’s key CMV vaccine study, expected to be the next big win, failed

Moderna said Wednesday afternoon that its experimental vaccine against cytomegalovirus, a cause of disability in newborns, had failed in a Phase 3 trial, a significant setback for a company already facing pressure from Wall Street and the federal government.

The CMV vaccine was the company’s main program before the Covid-19 pandemic. Executives have repeatedly said it could bring in $2 billion to $5 billion in peak annual sales. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha forecast peak sales of $1.6 billion for the product.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, said in an interview.