Senate health committee chair Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

March 22, 2023 01:00 PM EDT

Moderna CEO defends Covid-19 vaccine price change at Senate committee grilling

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel faced a barrage of questions from the Senate health committee on Wednesday but emerged mostly unscathed as he defended the quadrupling of the price of the company’s blockbuster Covid-19 vaccine in the US, from about $26 per dose to $130 per dose.

What’s behind that rise in price, many senators on both sides of the aisle questioned, and Bancel offered a variety of reasons. First and foremost, the company is expecting a 90% reduction in demand for its vaccine next fall, when the FDA is likely to roll out another booster campaign to fight Covid-19.

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Moderna CEO defends Covid-19 vaccine price change at Senate committee grilling

Zachary Brennan

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Mod­er­na CEO de­fends Covid-19 vac­cine price change at Sen­ate com­mit­tee grilling

Zachary Brennan

Senior Editor

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

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Moderna CEO defends Covid-19 vaccine price change at Senate committee grilling

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Despite a summer of blockbuster rounds, biotech funding is on track to level off at pre-pandemic norms

FDA unveils new rare disease pilot program to increase agency-sponsor communications

How academic centers are trying to keep their promising drug discoveries out of the ‘valley of death’

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