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In congressional testimony Wednesday, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel unabashedly defended the company's plans to raise the US list price of its COVID-19 vaccines by more than 400 percent—despite creating the vaccine in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, receiving $1.7 billion in federal grant money for clinical development, and making roughly $36 billion from worldwide sales.
Bancel appeared this morning before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has long railed at the pharmaceutical price gouging in the US and pushed for policy reforms. After thanking Bancel for agreeing to testify, Sanders didn't pull any punches. He accused Moderna of "profiteering" and sharing in the "unprecedented level of corporate greed" seen in the pharmaceutical industry generally.
[...]
Early doses were priced between $15 to $16, while the government paid a little over $26 for the updated booster shots. When federal supplies run out later this year and the vaccines move to the commercial market, Moderna will set the list price of its vaccine at $130."This vaccine would not exist without NIH's partnership and expertise, and the substantial investment of the taxpayers of this country," Sanders summarized. "And here is the thank you that the taxpayers of this country received from Moderna for that huge investment: They are thanking the taxpayers of the United States by proposing to quadruple the price of the COVID vaccine."
[...] With no ground gained, Sanders turned to one final plea in the hearing:
"The United States—the people in our country—pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs in general... will you at least tell us today that the price you are charging for the vaccine will be lower than what other countries around the world are paying? Or are, once again, we going to pay the highest prices?"
Bancel started to respond by noting that health care costs are different in each country before Sanders interrupted and directed him to provide a straight answer, to which Bancel replied: "I cannot say the price will be lower than other countries."
Related:
Moderna CEO Says Private Investors Funded COVID Vaccine—Not Billions From Gov't
"Pure and Deadly Greed": Lawmakers Slam Pfizer's 400% Price Hike on COVID Shots
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Tork on Sunday March 26, @01:13AM (2 children)
Slashdolt Logic: "25 year old jokes about sharks and lasers are +5, Funny." 💩
(Score: 4, Touché) by sjames on Sunday March 26, @04:19AM
I'll bet your insurance rate well exceeds the portion of taxes Europeans pay that goes to healthcare.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 26, @10:25AM
My insurance stopped being useful around 20 years ago. There is no way that I can see outside of nearly dying to get the money back in claims that I put in. What they really want from me is a clean free $1200 per year and anything else I put in they offer me to claim back on extras. So I pay $2400 per year and can claim up to $1200 back so long as I use those services. Which I don't. If I go for the cheapest health insurance with the lowest rates it is around $1100 per year with almost nothing claimable unless you are nearly dying.
Even if you are nearly dying, it doesn't cover much and quite frankly unless you are poor it's not worth having unless you are really constantly sick and in and out of hospital. Even then you would need to pay 2 to 3 times this to get the benefits.
It doesn't matter which way you cut it, health insurance just isn't worth it. Sadly, we are forced to buy it or pay 1% additional tax. You work it out.