In the face of complaints from senators, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel did not agree to reduce the advertising rate of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine at a hearing Wednesday on the price of the vaccine.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, opened the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing by criticizing “an unprecedented point of corporate greed” and highlighting the private wealth accumulated by Moderna’s smartest executives after the Covid-19 vaccine unrolled.
“As soon as Moderna started receiving billions of dollars from the federal government, Mr. Bancel literally became a billionaire overnight and is now worth over $4 billion. He was also able to secure a golden parachute valued at another $926 million after his departure. the company. But let’s be clear: Mr. Bancel is not alone,” said Sanders, who is chairman of the committee. “None of those 4 Americans were billionaires before our nation’s taxpayers funded the covid-19 vaccine. “
Moderna has proposed a value of $130 depending on the dose of the vaccine.
Sanders pointed to the taxpayer-funded partnership between the National Institutes of Health and federal agencies with Moderna to expand the covid-19 vaccine.
American taxpayers paid $12 billion for research and procurement of the vaccine, Sanders said.
The federal government has spent more than $30 billion on covid-19 vaccines and to make sure others can get them at no cost, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report.
“And here’s the thanks this country’s taxpayers have earned from Moderna for this massive investment: They’re thanking U. S. taxpayers by proposing to quadruple the value of the covid vaccine to $130 once the government’s inventory runs out, at a time when it costs less than $3 to make the vaccine. ” Sanders said.
Bancel said that after 10 years of money, Moderna created a vaccine that “ended the pandemic. “
He explained why his company introduced a $130 vaccine value label – this series of Covid-19 vaccines will be aimed at the advertising market, meaning they will be packaged in single-dose vials, which would be worthwhile. Until now, vaccines were meant to be sold to the government in vials of 10 doses.
In addition, Moderna is adapting to declining demand.
“The volume we had the pandemic has given us economies of scale that we might not possibly have anymore. That’s what’s different,” Bancel said.
When asked by Sanders, Bancel would dedicate himself to reducing the value of the shot or making sure that he will charge less than in other countries.
“I can’t say the value will be lower than in other countries,” Bancel said.
In February, Moderna announced an assistance program that will provide loose vaccines to other uninsured people when the federal physical emergency declaration expires.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, a member of the committee, questioned the program and asked if it could come with an administration fee that would incur a cost. Bancel said he examined it.
His colleague, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. , has diverted attention from the covid-19 vaccine charge and its protection and a potential clash of interests.
“Do you think that creates a conflict of interest for the same other people who make a decision about how we deserve to take the vaccine to make money the more we take the vaccine?” asked Paul.
Bancel responded that the government is in favor of this decision.