U.S. Government Bolsters Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Contract To $1.25B - Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA)

Moderna Inc MRNA said that the U.S. government had agreed to increase the contract for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine by $236 million to roughly $1.25 billion to include additional costs related to the shot’s studies, according to SEC filing.
The latest funds will reimburse for Moderna’s costs associated with the vaccine’s Phase III clinical trial, as well as pharmacovigilance efforts to track the vaccine’s safety.
The company and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) had initially signed a $483 million deal for the vaccine in July last year, which later increased to about $1 billion.
As of March 31, 2021, the remaining available funding net of revenue earned under the BARDA Contract before the increased payment was $317 million, Moderna said in a regulatory filing.
The company has already delivered 100 million doses to the U.S. government, and another 100 million are expected before the end of next month, while another 100 million doses are slated for the end of July.
The U.S. government in August last year had also separately signed a $1.53 billion deal for 100 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, with an option to buy 400 million more doses.
Price Action: MRNA shares are down 1.80% at $180.30 during market trading hours on the last check Wednesday.