How much is Moderna’s COVID vaccine?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Moderna is going to charge between $32 to $37 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine for some customers, the biotechnology company said.
• Moderna says it will use a tiered pricing system and will charge less for higher volume orders.
• The price Moderna is charging for small orders is higher than the $19.50 per dose price negotiated by Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech.

American biotechnology company Moderna will charge between $32 and $37 a dose for its coronavirus vaccine for some “low volume” customers, CEO Stéphane Bancel said Wednesday.

Moderna will utilize a tiered pricing system and will charge less for higher volume orders. Small order for Moderna will be “in the millions” of doses, Bancel added.

The Massachusetts-based company will be charging “well below value” during the pandemic, the CEO added but will follow market pricing until the coronavirus is under control and categorized as endemic.

“We’ll work with the market,” Bancel said, adding that Moderna is working with governments worldwide “to ensure a vaccine is accessible regardless of ability to pay.”

“At Moderna, like many experts, we believe the virus is not going away, and there will be a need to vaccinate people or give them a boost for many years to come,” Bancel added.

Moderna is among a handful of companies the Trump administration has contracted with through Operation Warp Speed.

The company started its phase three trial last week, testing the safety and effectiveness of its vaccine to 30,000 people. The vaccine is being developed in a joint effort with the National Institutes of Health.

Moderna’s price point is notably higher than the price negotiated by Pfizer and German biotech BioNTech, which is $19.50 per dose.

The Pfizer agreement is only for the doses and distribution while Moderna received almost $1 billion in government funding for the development of a vaccine.

If the vaccine is successful, 100 million doses for $1.95 billion will be guaranteed for the U.S. government. In an interview with Axios, Moderna confirmed that federal money makes up 100 percent of the funding for its COVID-19 vaccine program.

Last month, Pfizer and Moderna executives would not commit to price their vaccines at-cost during a congressional hearing.

Moderna’s revenue growth was massive in the second quarter, mainly due to its deal with the government to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. As of June 30, it reported $66 million in total revenue, compared to $13 million at the same time in 2019.

Source: The Hill