MRNA Stock Down 3% on Wednesday, Moderna Q2 Revenue Rises amid Its Coronavirus Vaccine Development

UTC by Teuta Franjkovic · 4 min read
MRNA Stock Down 3% on Wednesday, Moderna Q2 Revenue Rises amid Its Coronavirus Vaccine Development
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Moderna said that it’s on track to finish enrollment for a phase 3 study of its vaccine by the end of September. The company reported a fivefold increase in its Q2 revenue to $66.4 million.

American biotechnology company focused on drug discovery, drug development, and vaccine technologies based exclusively on messenger RNA, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) said it is charging between $32 to $37 per dose for its anti-COVID vaccine for some patients, under said cheaper “pandemic pricing.” Moreover, that’s not all the news from Moderna as the company published its Q2 earnings report.

Moderna stock was over 3% down on Wednesday and after-hours MRNA stock fell 0.32%.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel stated that the company currently found itself within the negotiations for larger volume agreements that will have a lower price.

Speaking at a conference call discussing Moderna Q2 financial results, Bancel said:

“We are working with governments around the world and others to ensure a vaccine is accessible regardless of ability to pay. We’re currently in a pandemic as defined by WHO. At Moderna, like many experts, we believe the virus is not going away and there will be a need to vaccinate people or give them a boost for many years to come.”

When it comes to quantity, the company says that a small order of its vaccine can be counted “in the millions.” The price the company is charging for small orders is higher than the $19.50 per dose agreed to by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and German biotech BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) in a deal with the U.S. government.

Phase 3 Trial Already Started

Bancel added the vaccine will be priced “well-below value” through all the time the pandemic lasts. After the virus comes under control and starts being considered rare, the pricing will follow the traditional market in line with other commercial vaccines, he noted. He stressed the company seriously intends to “work with the market.”

Moderna said it has started negotiations with numerous countries regarding the supply of its potential coronavirus vaccine, called mRNA-1273, and already managed to get approximately $400 million in deposits as of July 31. Last week, the company started a phase three trial testing about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine on 30,000 people with results expected as early as October. The company said it expects finishing admission for its phase three trial in September.

Moderna’s experimental vaccine, which is being developed with the help of the National Institutes of Health, in itself has genetic material dubbed messenger RNA, or mRNA, for which scientists hope boosts the immune system to fight the virus.

Moderna Reports Q2 Earnings Results

The company got $483 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in April this year in order to support its vaccine development. Last month, it announced it received an extra $472 million from the U.S. government.

Moderna reported an increase in its Q2 revenue to $66.4 million, it is more than five times higher than $13.1 million it took in during the same period last year and higher than the $27.4 million projected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

The company managed to diminish its second-quarter loss to $116.7 million, or 31 cents a share, from $134.9 million, or 41 cents a share during the same quarter last year.

Bancel commented:

“The second quarter marked a new growth phase for Moderna as we started to build our commercial team, a historic moment for those of us who have worked at the company for many years since it was a breakthrough research enterprise. As we pivot to a commercial-stage company, we recognize the need for responsible pricing in the face of the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, it was reported that the federal government of Canada entered two agreements to secure millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines. Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Ottawa has signed deals with both Pfizer and Moderna. Pfizer will supply its BNT162 mRNA-based vaccine candidate, while Moderna will provide its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate.

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