Bloomberg – Annual US sales of Covid-19 shots could be high as $12.9 billion, with health officials likely recommending an annual booster, vaccine maker Moderna Inc. said in a meeting with investors. [Humira is currently the only drug with over $10 billion in US sales. – Headline Health]
Exactly how big the market will be for shots made by the company and its rivals depends on who keeps receiving boosters, Moderna said.
It could be as little as $5.2 billion annually, depending on shots’ prices and how many people receive them, officials said Thursday in a meeting with investors in Boston.
The pandemic transformed Moderna from a fledgling biotech into a vaccine powerhouse with more than $18 billion in revenue last year almost entirely from a single product.
Moderna anticipates that Covid shots will continue to provide steady sales after the initial rush, though demand will likely drop off somewhat.
“Moderna expects Covid vaccines to be recommended annually, like flu shots.”
Until now, Moderna has sold its vaccines to governments and nations rather than private insurers. With the US government preparing to stop providing free shots to the public, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna will need to go head to head with rival Pfizer Inc. and its sales prowess.
Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel said his company is ready to make its case.
“It’s very clear that our vaccine has better protection against hospitalization,” Bancel said in an interview. “What is good for us is if you think about talking to a big payer, they want members not to go into hospitals because they cover hospital costs, and so that data I think is even more important.”
Real-world data has shown that the vaccine from Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE “is highly protective against a severe case or ultimately hospitalizations,” a Pfizer spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Shares of Moderna rose 4.1% at 2:36 p.m. in New York. They’ve slid 45% this year.
Uptake of Covid boosters this fall could give investors some insight into how interest in vaccines will persist. Immunization rates have declined with every new booster offered … READ MORE.
