Moderna Inc.’s orders for its COVID-19 vaccine rose only modestly in the last six weeks as it battles rivals for market share amid fading pandemic concerns.
The messenger RNA vaccine maker said it has signed US$19 billion worth of agreements for 2022 sales of its COVID vaccine, up from US$18.5 billion announced in January. But the company also said in an quarterly earnings statement that options for 2022 orders were US$3 billion, down from US$3.5 billion in options it announced in January. Moderna also announced a US$3 billion share repurchase program.
The shares fell 4.5 per cent Thursday before U.S. markets opened. They have lost almost half their value since the year began.
COVID case numbers are plummeting around the world as the omicron wave recedes, while new vaccine makers such as Novavax Inc. enter the market. As countries relax pandemic restrictions, Moderna is working to retain momentum in sales of its only product.
For the quarter, earnings were US$11.29 a share on revenues of US$7.21 billion. Analysts had estimated earnings of US$10.17 a share and revenue of US$6.84 billion. The company said final 2021 sales of its COVID vaccine, its only product, were US$17.7 billion. That was slightly above the US$17.5 billion preliminary product sales number it had announced in January.
Moderna has been racing with rival mRNA partners Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to ramp up COVID vaccine production and sell shots around the world. Pfizer has said it has US$32 billion in 2022 orders for its COVID vaccine.
Key variables in Moderna’s future sales include whether fourth doses will be widely used and whether variant-specific boosters, which both Moderna and Pfizer are testing, will prove useful. On a conference call with analysts, Moderna officials said they continue to believe that a fourth booster dose will be needed by the fall of 2022.
Moderna also said it’s working on a shot that would combine its existing COVID vaccine with the omicron-specific version that’s in testing.
Overall, about 807 million vaccine doses were shipped worldwide in 2021, generating US$17.7 billion in product sales, Moderna said.
Advertisement