The boss of the American laboratory Moderna Stéphane Bancel, accused of “greed” by the influential Democratic senator Bernie Sanders, defended on Wednesday the decision to jump the price of his anti-Covid vaccine to 130 dollars in the United States when the government stops to be his only client. The company has so far charged for doses of its vaccine between about $15 and $26, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The government subsidized $1.7 billion for Moderna’s research at the start of the pandemic and then bought $10 billion worth of vaccines, Bernie Sanders recalled during a hearing organized to demand an explanation from Stéphane. Bank.
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A radical change in the distribution system
Moderna “thanks US taxpayers by offering to quadruple the price of the Covid vaccine to $130 once government stock is depleted, when it costs less than $3 to produce,” he lamented, reminding many the repurchase of shares carried out by the company and the high remunerations granted to the directors. “In the pharmaceutical industry right now, we are seeing an unprecedented level of corporate greed. And this is certainly the case with Moderna”, asserted the politician who regularly denounces the high cost of drugs in the country.
The distribution system will change completely when the United States lifts the state of health emergency, defended Stéphane Bancel. Moderna has so far only talked to one customer, distributed its vaccine to only a few warehouses, and did not have to bear the cost of expired doses. By moving to more traditional marketing, “we will have 10,000 customers” as well as the management “of delivery to 60,000 pharmacies, medical offices and hospitals”, he added.
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Currently distributed in vials containing several doses, the vaccine will mainly be sold in a single-dose vial or directly in a syringe. And Moderna is going to have to support the unsold doses. Demand will also drop by 90%, anticipates Stéphane Bancel, which will increase the cost of production per unit. And the price is set according to the value brought by the vaccine to the health system, in this case the number of hospitalizations avoided, argued the official.
Switzerland bought millions of doses
Moderna is also committed to setting up a program so that uninsured or poorly insured people do not have to pay anything. Pressed by Bernie Sanders on the possibility of the company lowering its price for government-run health insurance programs, he replied that discussions were underway with all customers.
Asked about the possible price differences between different countries, Stéphane Bancel indicated that he could not guarantee “that the price will be lower [aux Etats-Unis] to that of other countries. In Switzerland, health authorities have acquired more than 40 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine by the end of 2023. The purchase price is still confidential.
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