Moderna Profits Show the Lackings of Big Pharma

Moderna, the producer of the COVID-19 vaccine, released its financial results for 2021 earlier this month. They revealed that vaccine is one of the most profitable drugs ever, generating approximately $18 billion in sales in a single year. It’s still a long way off from Pfizer’s record-breaking $37 billion, but it’s nonetheless impressive for a company with no other products on the market.

The profit Moderna produced is even more astounding than the sales figures. They made $13 billion in pre-tax profits, according to company records. This works up to $36 million per day in 2021, providing a profit margin of roughly 70%. It’s the kind of profit margin you’d expect to see on high-end consumer goods, not on life-saving medications.

And it’s no surprise, given that Moderna vaccine could be made for as low as $2.85 per dose, yet it’s the most costly vaccine on the market, costing between $19 and $24 on average but up to $37 in some countries. To put it another way, the business could be charging up to 13 times the vaccine’s anticipated cost. investors have become multi-billionaires as a result of these earnings.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel, who is also a major shareholder, was worth over $12 billion at one point during the pandemic, and while Moderna stock has been erratic, he is still worth $5 billion today. Some may claim that it doesn’t matter. Sure, Bancel and his associates made a profit, but we now have a vaccine, which has saved many lives and generated considerably more money than these executives.