The United States is tying payments for COVID-19 vaccines to timing milestones for production and approval, according to public documents and a Trump administration official, putting pressure on drugmakers including Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) to meet ambitious targets.
In a deal with Moderna announced this week, federal agencies negotiated a sliding scale of payments. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, biotech’s $1.5-billion deal pays out in full if its vaccine receives regulatory clearance by January 31, 2021, according to filings. It receives $1.2 billion, if it falls short of that timing goal.
Moderna also receives $600 million when it can demonstrate it has built out industrial-scale manufacturing capabilities for its vaccine, even if that happens before the drug is authorized by regulators, the filings show.
TVNL Comment: Money talks. Billions of dollars talk very loudly. Be ready for an untested, very possibly unsafe, and surely premature vaccine.
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