Plans for a Phase II dosing and efficacy trial to begin in May were approved by the FDA. In preparation for manufacturing as many as a billion doses of the vaccine should it have proof of safety and efficacy in its human studies, Moderna signed a partnership with the Swiss vaccine producer, Lonza Group, who will begin batch manufacturing by July. In May 2020, after releasing partial and non-peer reviewed results for only 8 of 45 candidates in a preliminary pre-Phase 1 stage human trial direct to stock markets, the CEO announced on CNBC an immediate $1.25 billion rights issue to raise funds for the company, at a $30 billion valuation. Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb tempered the CNBC audience by saying that there would be a "long road ahead for Moderna". The "Wall Street Journal" followed up with "Be Careful Handling White-Hot Moderna Stock", while "Stat" said, "Vaccine experts say Moderna didn't produce data critical to assessing Covid-19 vaccine". William A. Haseltine in a "Washington Post" opinion piece called it: "publication by press release". On May 25, Moderna began a Phase IIa clinical trial recruiting 600 adult participants to assess safety and differences in antibody response to two doses of its candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, a study expected to complete in 2021.