Moderna Wants to Hike COVID-19 Vaccine Price by 400%

Moderna is reportedly contemplating an increase in the price of its COVID-19 vaccine by more than 400% – from $26 per dose to a range of $110 to $130 per dose.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, if implemented, this price hike would align with a previous increase in the price of Pfizer-BioNTech’s competing COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Moderna CEO, Stephane Bancel, stated that the proposed 400% price increase is “consistent with the value.”

Up until now, the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech have been procured by the US government and provided free of charge.

The official contract shows that the updated booster shot of Moderna’s vaccine cost the US government $26 per dose, an increase from $15-$16 per dose. Similarly, the US government paid a little over $30 per dose for Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, up from $19.50 per dose.

As the US government withdraws from distributing COVID-19 vaccines, manufacturers such as Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are shifting toward the commercial market and adjusting their prices accordingly.

Financial analysts had previously estimated Pfizer would set the commercial price for its vaccine at $50 per dose but were surprised when in October, Pfizer announced a price range of $110 to $130 per dose.

Following this development, analysts expected that other vaccine manufacturers would follow suit, as Moderna is now considering, with a 400% price hike.

The news that Moderna may raise its vaccine price to match Pfizer’s came on the heels of the company’s announcement that it anticipates its COVID-19 vaccine sales for 2022 reached around $18.4 billion. Moderna also stated that it anticipates making a minimum of $5 billion in COVID-19 vaccine sales in 2023.