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Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine deal with the United States, announced last week with a price tag of $ 1.525 billion, would be worth much more if all options are exercised – and if mRNA biotechnology meets a aggressive schedule for the arrival of the shot.
The company is expected to earn up to $ 8.125 billion, according to a Moderna securities filing that details the price of follow-up doses and the windfall for early FDA approval.
The basic agreement calls for 100 million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, for $ 1.225 billion. But the drugmaker is eligible for a $ 300 million bonus if it is able to get emergency use clearance from the FDA or full approval by Jan.31, the file says.
The combination also allows the government to purchase up to an additional 400 million doses through four contract options, each comprising 100 million doses.
Each 100 million doses would cost the US government $ 1.65 billion, so those doses of vaccine would cost $ 16.50 each. If the government exercised all options, that would represent an additional $ 6.6 billion in revenue on top of the first round of $ 1.525 billion.
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Last week’s deal builds on $ 955 million in R&D funding the government has already given to biotechnology, which has started late testing with its candidate.
Also under the deal, Moderna is entitled to “approximately $ 600 million” for the production of production-related materials, according to the filing. And if Moderna gets FDA approval for the vaccine but doesn’t fulfill the supply order, the company is forced to help the government or a third party ramp up manufacturing to produce the doses.
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In addition to the Moderna deal, the government has signed supply agreements with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Novavax, with all deals totaling 800 million doses. Pfizer partner BioNTech said the team may be able to request emergency approvals by October. For his part, vaccine expert Peter Hotez recently told CNN that there was “no way” a vaccine would be available by election day on November 3.
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