Moderna Reported First Quarterly Profit in its History
On Thursday, the biotech company Moderna released its earnings report, and the company’s report includes many interesting details. It also released the information about its Covid-19 vaccine alongside its first-quarter earnings report. The company said its vaccine is 96% effective in kids ages 12 to 17. Hopefully, its original vaccine was generally well-tolerated among adolescents with no serious concerns identified to date. More than 3,000 adolescents took part in the trial.
The company also plans to submit data regarding its vaccine for adults to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for full approval later this month. Its vaccine helped drive the company’s first quarterly profit ever. The company’s Covid-19 vaccine generated $1.7 billion in sales, based on the information taken from its earnings report.
The biotech company’s shares were down by more than 6% in premarket trading. Covid vaccine makers’ shares declined after the decision made by the Biden administration. The administration announced that it supports waiving intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines due to the global health crisis. Countries are struggling to deal with a huge number of cases, and the administration wants to improve the situation.
On Wednesday, Pfizer ended its trading day flat, and Johnson & Johnson dropped 0.4%. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America criticized the administration’s decision. The members of the trade group include vaccine makers such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer as well as Johnson & Johnson.
Moderna and interesting details
The company raised its 2021 sales forecast for its vaccine to $19.2 billion, up from its previous forecast of $18.4 billion. This week its rival company from New York City, Pfizer also raised its vaccine sale forecast, predicting full-year sales of $26 billion.
Research and development expenses were $401 million for the quarter, compared to $115 million for the same period of time a year ago. In a press release, the company’s CEO Stephane Bancel stated that the Moderna team fulfilled its obligations and helped to protect more than 100 million people.
Moderna was the second company to gain U.S. authorization for its Covid vaccine. The company has a deal with the country’s government for 300 million doses, enough to inoculate 150 million Americans.
The Massachusetts-based company is actively engaged in discussions and agreements for 2022 with all of the governments it is currently supplying for 2021.
