Moderna Signs Deal With Swiss Government To Supply 4.5M Doses Of Coronavirus Vaccine

Coronavirus vaccine developer Moderna Inc MRNA has struck its first deal with a government agency, as Switzerland confirmed Friday reports of procuring the mRNA vaccine developed by the company against SARS-CoV-2, Reuters reported.

What Happened: The Swiss government said it has signed to source 4.5 million doses of the vaccine, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company is developing, in a bid to get early access.

This, the government said, would be enough to vaccinate 2.25 million people, assuming a two-dose per patient schedule. Switzerland's current population is about 8.7 million, according to the Worldometer.

This aside, the government is also in talks with other vaccine makers and has set aside about 300 million Swiss francs ($329 million) for the purpose, the report added.

What's Next? Moderna's investigational vaccine, codenamed mRNA-1273, is currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 trial. Preliminary results of a Phase 1 trial released in mid-May showed dose-dependent increases in immunogenicity.

It's widely expected that an interim Phase 3 readout could come as early as late October.

Moderna said in its earnings call Wednesday it executed some small volume contracts at $32-$37/dose, which is pricier than the competition. It also said it's in talks to finalize higher volume contracts at lower per-dose pricing.