Moderna To Charge $32-$37/Dose For Covid Vaccine Developed Entirely With Taxpayer Money

[Nevilledog]

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/08/moderna-charge-32-37dose-vaccine-developed

Consumer advocates warned Wednesday that pharmaceutical giant Moderna is "taking taxpayers for a ride" after the company announced plans to charge between $32 and $37 per dose for a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed entirely with funds from the U.S. federal government.

"Taxpayers are paying for 100% of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine development. All of it," Peter Maybarduk, director of the Access to Medicines Program at Public Citizen, said in a statement. "Yet taxpayers may wind up paying tens of billions more to Moderna to buy our vaccine back, if it proves safe and effective."

"The so-called Moderna vaccine belongs in significant part to the people of the U.S," said Maybarduk. "We paid for it. Federal scientists led the way. It ought to be the people's vaccine, not a new taxpayer burden."

The experimental vaccine is currently undergoing a Phase 3 clinical trial that is expected to enroll around 30,000 adult volunteers who do not have Covid-19, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Trial results are expected as early as October.

*snip*

[redstatebluegirl]

1. I am surprised it is that low, I figured they were charge over $100 so only those with means could

get it.

[democrattotheend]

8. I agree, that price doesn't seem so unreasonable

But hopefully either the company or the government will subsidize it for low income patients.

[LisaL]

2. Lets just see if they have anything that they can charge for.

[CaptYossarian]

3. That's a lot for 10cc of dollar store bleach.

[CrispyQ]

4. Where is the right wing outrage over the SOCIALISM of it all?

Huh?

[cojoel]

5. sadly the normal rule of republicanism apply

They don't mind socialism for corporations. They just don't want it for regular people. The poorer and darker the people the less they want it.

[Amishman]

6. I might be the only one but this seems reasonable

It still took their resources, which could not be utilized for other projects - this is called an opportunity cost. Not to mention the impact on other projects which were abruptly stopped to shift resources to the Covid project.

If (and this is a huge if) their vaccine both works and is safe, this is a good deal.

[moonscape]

7. Not the only one. If taxpayer $$ had not been involved, it

would likely have been hundreds/dose.

[fescuerescue]

9. $32 is very reasonable

Yes the development cost was paid for by taxpayers.

Are taxpayers also paying the manufacturing, scale up and distribution costs?

Raise your hand if you want to sign up to make and deliver 400,000,000 objects of any sort and deliver them to ~350,000,000 people. And do it for free.

$32 is a bargain for ANY ANY new medicine. Cheapest I've ever heard of it in fact.