Moderna is expected to charge about $130 for a single dose of its COVID- 19 vaccine once the U.S. government stops buying the shots, according to Reuters.
President Stephen Hoge told Reuters on Monday that there were different customers who are negotiating different prices, which is why it's a little bit complicated.
Hoge made comments two days before company CEO Stephen Bancel is scheduled to appear in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Moderna's pricing plans for its mRNA vaccine.
Bancel is expected to be questioned during the Wednesday hearing entitled, Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of COVID Vaccine? $110 TO $130 -- 19 S.
The US Department of Health Human Services said the pandemic public health emergency is set to end in mid-May. This means that the government will no longer buy and distribute shots. The price negotiations will shift to insurers and government health programs.
The administration said it is committed to making sure that COVID 19 vaccines and treatments are accessible to all who need them. The government said that there will be access to pathways for emergency use authorizations EUAs for COVID 19 products tests, vaccines, and treatments through the Food and Drug Administration FDA and major telehealth flexibilities for those who are participating in Medicare or Medicaid.
Moderna said earlier this year it was considering pricing the vaccine in the range of $110 to $130 per dose. This is in line with Pfizer, which announced in October that a single dose of its Pfizer-BioNTech COVID 19 vaccine would cost between $110 and $130.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sits the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, has previously urged Moderna not to spend more than quadrupling the price of its COVID 19 vaccine, given that it only costs $2.85 to manufacture.
Your decision will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Sanders wrote a January letter to Bancel that will increase private health insurance premiums. The vaccine will be unavailable for millions of people who are not able to afford it because of the quadrupling of prices.
Sanders claimed that the cost of producing the vaccine is 2.2% of what Moderna plans to charge.
Sanders said that the government gave Moderna $1.7 billion for vaccine research and development, and guaranteed the company billions more in sales. The drugmaker made over the last few years more than $19 billion in profits, according to Sanders.
Hoge argued Moderna paid more than the government back, according to Reuters.
Representatives for Moderna have not responded to FOX Business's request for comment.