US ups funding for Moderna Covid-19 vaccine as total nears $6B

 The US government poured money into Moderna as it sought to speed its Covid-19 vaccine to market. In hindsight, the investments worked, and the US may end up investing about $6 billion in Moderna’s vaccine when all is said and done, according to a company SEC filing Wednesday.

The latest funds from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, up to $236 million more, will reimburse for Moderna’s costs associated with the vaccine’s Phase III clinical trial, as well as pharmacovigilance efforts to track the vaccine’s safety.

The increase in government reimbursements come as the company estimates it’ll collect at least $18.4 billion from sales of its Covid-19 vaccine this year.

That expected windfall follows the government’s investments of another $5.75 billion into the vaccine’s development, clinical trials, manufacturing and purchase of 300 million doses, all since last April. The company has already delivered 100 million doses to the US government, and another 100 million are expected before the end of next month, while another 100 million doses are slated for the end of July.

As of the end of March, Moderna said $317 million remained available under the BARDA contract, prior to this additional $236 million. The contract also spells out exactly what Moderna can request reimbursements for and all of those requests are reviewed by BARDA in detail.

The government’s investment and Moderna’s rise have brought instant riches to its earliest investors, with Flagship selling off $1.4 billion in Moderna shares, and the company’s executives.

CEO Stéphane Bancel is now worth more than $5.5 billion, and he sold $161 million in shares of Moderna, while outgoing CMO Tal Zaks cashed in $101 million in shares.

https://endpts.com/us-ups-funding-for-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-as-total-nears-6b/