July 31 (Reuters) - Moderna ( MRNA ) beat Wall Street

estimates for second-quarter revenue on Friday, benefiting from

better-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, as the

company gears up for the potential launch of its flu shot.

However, the company's shares fell more than 4% in premarket

trading after its experimental norovirus vaccine candidate

missed the statistical benchmark for early success in an interim

analysis of a late-stage study.

The company is betting that its flu vaccine and a future

COVID-flu combination shot can help offset the decline from

pandemic-era COVID-19 vaccine sales while demonstrating that its

mRNA platform can support a durable, diversified

respiratory-vaccine franchise.

The U.S. FDA is set to decide on Moderna's ( MRNA ) flu vaccine by

August 5, after the agency first refused to accept its

application under former Commissioner Marty Makary, only to

reverse course and accept a revised application for review.

The company reiterated its revenue growth expectation of up

to 10% for the year, with roughly half of its revenue coming

from the U.S.

The company reported second-quarter revenue of $145 million,

compared with analysts' average estimate of $103 million,

according to LSEG data.