Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine division with the US, announced last week with a $ 1.525 billion price tag, would be far more valuable if all options were exercised – and if the mRNA biotech meets an aggressive timeline for the arrival of the shot.
The company will win up to a whopping $ 8.125 billion, according to a submission from Moderna Securities that outlines the price for 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 score an FDA emergency authorization if fully approved by Jan. 31.
The tie-up also allows the government to purchase a maximum of 400 million additional doses through four contract options, each with 100 million doses.
Each 100-dose dose would cost the U.S. government $ 1.65 billion, making these fax doses $ 16.50 each. If the government exercised all options, that would again be $ 6.6 billion in revenue on top of the first round of $ 1.525 billion.
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Last week’s agreement builds on $ 955 million in R & D funding that the government has already extended to the biotech, which has late – stage testing with its candidate.
Also under the agreement, Moderna is entitled to “approximately $ 600 million” for the production of documents related to production, according to the submission. And if Moderna wins an FDA approval for the vaccine but does not complete the delivery order, the company is required to help the government as a third party to scale up production to produce the doses.
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In addition to the Moderna deal, the government has inked supply agreements with AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Novavax, with all agreements totaling 800 million doses. Pfizer’s partner BioNTech said the team may be able to apply for an emergency permit in October. For his part, fax expert Peter Hotez recently told CNN that there is “no way” to get a fax through election day on Nov. 3.
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