Moderna has bagged a deal worth up to $1.52 billion for the manufacturing and supply of 100 million doses of its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate for Covid-19 to the US government.

The US biotech company said that the award for the mRNA vaccine candidate includes incentive payments for the timely supply of the product.

As per the deal terms, the US government, as a part of Operation Warp Speed, also has the option to buy up to an additional 400 million doses of the mRNA-1273 Covid-19 vaccine candidate from Moderna. Currently, the mRNA vaccine is in phase 3 development following the start of the COVE (Coronavirus Efficacy) study in nearly 30,000 participants.

The US government is expected to make the mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate free of cost to the citizens. However, healthcare professionals can charge for the cost of administering the potential Covid vaccine.

Alex Azar – US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary said: “For Operation Warp Speed, we are assembling a broad portfolio of vaccines to increase the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year.

“With this latest investment, we will have supported the vaccine candidate developed by Moderna in partnership with the NIH all the way from early development through clinical trials and now manufacturing, with the potential to bring millions of safe and effective doses to the American people.”

Previously, Moderna won an award of up to $955 million from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the clinical development and licensing of the mRNA-1273 Covid-19 vaccine candidate.

Stéphane Bancel – Moderna CEO said: “We appreciate the confidence of the U.S. government in our mRNA vaccine platform and the continued support.

“We are advancing the clinical development of mRNA-1273 with the ongoing Phase 3 study being conducted in collaboration with NIAID and BARDA. In parallel, we are scaling up our manufacturing capability with our strategic partners, Lonza, Catalent and Rovi, to address this global health emergency with a safe and effective vaccine.”

  Alex Azar, BARDA, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Moderna, Operation Warp Speed, Stéphane Bancel, USA