Moderna has posted $18.5 billion revenue from COVID-19 vaccine sales in the 2021 full year amid growing calls for manufacturers to waive intellectual property rights to help developing countries jumpstart local vaccine production.
The US biopharmaceutical company expects to hit a total of $22 billion this year, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that beat earnings and revenue estimates.
In a statement released last week, Moderna says it increased its 2022 signed advance purchase agreements to approximately $19 billion, with additional signed options of approximately $3 billion as numerous discussions were ongoing with governments for the fall of 2022 and 2023.
Moderna stock also rose 11.4 percent last Thursday. The company’s 2022 forecast for vaccine sales was $2 billion higher than its previous expectation of $17 billion in vaccine sales this year.
Moderna vaccine is one of the mRNA-based vaccines that came early to the fight against the pandemic. Governments around the world including the US and UK have inoculated millions of people relying on 94 percent efficacy and variant boosters to boost.
Stephane Bancel, Moderna’s chief executive officer said the $19 billion only reflects signed purchase agreements and doesn’t count its potential U.S. sales yet since the federal government hasn’t signed advanced purchase agreements for 2022.
Bancel expects the price to increase as the shots move into a normal private market.
“We think the price does not reflect the value of the vaccine from a pharmacoeconomic standpoint,” Bancel said.
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Moderna reported $4.9 billion in net income for the fourth quarter. The company sold $17.7 billion of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, delivering 807 million vaccine doses worldwide. Moderna’s revenue totaled $18.5 billion for 2021.
The bubble from COVID-19 vaccines production first reflected on Moderna when it recorded its largest profitable quarter ever in its 10 years history in the first quarter of last year.
It raked in $1.9 billion in total revenue for the 2021 first quarter compared to $8 million for the same period in 2020 as commercial sales of COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. soared and international sales ramped up.
New data shows it spent $2 billion on research and development for the full year 2021, compared to $1.4 billion in 2020. The growth in spending in 2021 was mainly due to increases in clinical trial expenses, personnel-related costs, and consulting and outside services, largely driven by increased mRNA-1273 clinical development and headcount, the company stated.
Bancel said the world may be moving out of the pandemic phase as the omicron wave subsides in the U.S. and around the world, according to a CNBC report monitored by Businessday.
However, Bancel said people will need booster shots in the fall, particularly individuals over 50 and those with underlying conditions.
“We believe there’s a high probability that we’re moving into an endemic setting,” Bancel said. “We should still be cautious because as we’ve seen with delta, which came after alpha and was more virulent, it is always possible to get the more virulent variant of course.”
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is the company’s only commercially available treatment. The company is conducting a clinical trial for a booster shot that specifically targets the omicron COVID-19 variant.
But it’s unclear whether there will be strong demand from the public for an omicron booster as new infections from the variant drop sharply in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
The company said it is also developing a booster that targets both omicron and the other circulating COVID-19 variants.
“We believe that a seasonal booster will be necessary to prevent breakthrough diseases, including hospitalisation in vulnerable populations,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge said. “And we believe that the continued evolution of the virus is going to continue to put pressure on preexisting immunity, whether that’s naturally derived or a vaccine provided.”
Paul Burton, Moderna’s chief medical officer said a booster that targets both the omicron and delta variants will be needed in 2022.
“This is because delta, as we know, is associated with strong pathogenicity, and omicron as we have seen due to its transmissibility and infectivity is also associated with substantial morbidity and strain on health-care systems through sheer bulk of cases,” Burton said. “Protection against both delta and omicron may well be necessary for the next boost of vaccination.”
