U.S. reaches deal with Moderna for 100m doses of Covid-19 vaccine

U.S. reaches deal with Moderna for 100m doses of Covid-19 vaccine

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, August 12 announced his country will purchase 100 million doses of Moderna’s experimental coronavirus vaccine, which is currently in late-stage human trials, CNBC reports.

Moderna separately said the deal for its vaccine, mRNA-1273, is worth $1.53 billion and will give the federal government the option to purchase up to 400 million additional doses. The U.S. has already invested $955 million in Moderna’s vaccine development, bringing its total investment up to $2.48 billion, the company said in a press release Tuesday.

Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine is in late-stage human trials, which will test its efficacy and safety in 30,000 people. The Massachusetts-based company previously said it could expect results as early as October.

The U.S. government’s deal with Moderna follows similar agreements it’s made with pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson and other drug makers for their potential Covid-19 vaccines.

“We are investing in the development and manufacture of the top six vaccine candidates to ensure rapid delivery. The military is ready to go, they’re ready to deliver a vaccine to Americans as soon as one is fully approved by the FDA and we’re very close to that approval,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services previously said it would pay Pfizer and biotech firm BioNTech $1.95 billion to produce and deliver 100 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine with the option to acquire 500 million additional doses. HHS later announced it would give Johnson & Johnson more than $1 billion for 100 million doses with the option for an additional 200 million.

HHS also struck a deal with Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline for up to $2.1 billion to develop and deliver 100 million doses of their potential coronavirus vaccine with the option to acquire an additional 500 million doses.

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