Moderna Coronavirus Vaccine May Cost $37 Per Dose, Shows 94% Efficacy

KEY POINTS

Moderna would charge governments up to $37 per dose
Low-income countries would be given cheaper pricing
Only 11 of the trial's 15,000 participants tested positive for coronavirus

Biotech company Moderna Inc. announced on Monday its plan to charge governments up to $37 per dose of its coronavirus vaccine candidate.

The U.S. company would charge developed countries $25 to $37 per dose, but will introduce cheaper pricing to low-income countries, depending on the amount ordered, Reuters reported.

Stéphane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, on Monday revealed that the company is negotiating with the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility to reduce global vaccine inequities.

"We want to have this vaccine available at a tiered price for low-income countries. Our vaccine therefore costs about the same as a flu shot, which is between $10 and $50," he told German weekly Welt am Sonntag.

An EU official said Moderna is in talks with the European Commission, which wanted to reach a deal with the company for the supply of millions of vaccine doses for a price under $25 per dose.

"Nothing is signed yet, but we're close to a deal with the EU Commission. We want to deliver to Europe and are in constructive talks," Bancel said.

During a press conference on Monday, Moderna presented the final results of its 30,000-person efficacy trial. Data showed that only 11 people who received two doses of the vaccine tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the efficacy of Moderna's vaccine candidate to 94.1%.

The biotech company's coronavirus vaccine was also found to have 100% efficacy against severe illness. While 30 people from the trial's placebo group developed severe COVID-19, none of the 11 volunteers from the vaccine group became severely ill, Science reported.

The vaccine also had a 94% efficacy rate for older adults and members of racial minority communities.

"This is striking. These are amazing data," FDA vaccine advisory committee member Dr. Paul Offit said.

Moderna plans to apply for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency this week. The company will become the second vaccine maker to apply for approval for a coronavirus vaccine.

The FDA's advisory committee is scheduled to review Moderna's applications in December, CNN reported.