Moderna is the first pharmaceutical firm to conduct human clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. The company just recently released the amount they charged for every dose of vaccine.

Moderna
(Photo : Reutersconnect)

Pharmaceutical companies worldwide are now on the race to develop and produce a safe and effective vaccine. Moderna is the first pharmaceutical firm to conduct its human clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine. 

According to a recently published article in CBS News, Moderna charges as much as $37 for every dose of the experimental vaccine. The said amount is three times higher compared to other firms and companies who are developing vaccines. 

If Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine will be proven safe and effective to combat COVID-19, then a person needs more or less $74. Each person needs two doses of the vaccine to immunize from the infectious and deadly virus fully. 

Even though there is no approved vaccine yet for COVID-19, it seems that Moderna's leads among the drugmakers and pharmaceutical companies. Moderna started its Phase III Trial on its vaccine in late July, and its initial trials show promising results.

Moreover, Moderna's executives are confident they can release the vaccine earlier this year once the result of their Phase III shows positive results. If its vaccine is proven safe and effective, it will be the world's first proven vaccine. 

Meanwhile, European drugmakers like Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline signed a $2.1 billion deal with the U.S. federal government last week to produce 100 million vaccines that cost $10.50 each dose. The said calculation is from analyst Mani Foroohar of brokerage firm SVB Leerink.

On the other hand, the U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is also working on a COVID-19 vaccine and announced that the initial price would be $19.50 each dose. The amount is still lower compared to Moderna's price. 

Moderna CEO Stephanie Basel said during a phone interview that they are now working with governments around the world, and they will make sure that the vaccine will be accessible to all. The company's CEO also added that they would be responsible for the price during the pandemic. 

Moderna received a federal government funding nearly $1 billion to develop and produce its COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna did not give any comments and answers when asked how much the company will be earning for its treatment. 

Moderna President Dr. Stephen Hodge said that they do not have any plans to sell the vaccine at cost during the hearing. This is during the congressional hearing last month while a number of their rivals, which are developing vaccines, forego profits.

Even though Moderna already said that they would produce millions of vaccines early this year, it is still unclear how many millions they can produce based on their capacity compared to giant pharmaceutical firms. 

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