US biotech company Moderna had earlier announced a new potential COVID-19 vaccine, which has been shown to be 94.5 % effective at protecting people from Coronavirus, according to interim results from late-stage clinical trials. Soon after global drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech said their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 95% effective, including in adults over 65 years of age.
Now, Moderna's Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said that his company will charge governments between Rs. 1855 (USD 25) and Rs. 2755 (USD 37) per dose of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Talking to German weekly Welt am Sonntag (WamS), Barcel said that the price of the coronavirus vaccine will depend on the amount of doses ordered by the governments.
"Our vaccine therefore costs about the same as a flu shot, which is between $10 and $50," Reuters quoted Stephane Bancel as saying to WamS.
According to Reuters, on November 16, an EU official involved in the talks said the European Commission wanted to reach a deal with Moderna for the supply of millions of doses of its vaccine candidate for a price below $25 per dose.
"Nothing is signed yet, but we're close to a deal with the EU Commission. We want to deliver to Europe and are in constructive talks," Bancel told WamS, adding it was just a "matter of days" until a contract would be ready.
Meanwhile, India is in talks with the US-based biotech giant Moderna over the progress in the clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
"We are in dialogue not only with Moderna, but also with Pfizer, Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila over the progress of the clinical trials of each of the vaccine candidates and where their vaccines stand in terms of safety, immunogenicity and efficacy, and regulatory approvals," a source was quoted as saying by news agency IANS.
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