DNA modification ain't cheap.
The price Moderna is seeking is not likely to be final. In a range of about $50 to $60 for a course — that is, $25-$30 per dose — it appears to be higher than that agreed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech last week in a pre-order deal with the US government at $19.50 per dose. AstraZeneca, meanwhile, signed a deal for its potential vaccine with the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy, which worked out to $3 to $4 per dose, according to calculations by Geoffrey Porges, a pharma and biotech analyst at SVB Leerink.
The price Moderna was seeking “causes considerable concern and difficulties in negotiations, in view of the fact that other companies have pledged much lower prices”, said one of the people.
Mr Hoge stressed last week that Moderna, which is lossmaking, had raised $5bn from strategic collaborators and investors in addition to funds it received from the government.
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