Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Order Flow Abounds As US Strikes Deal For 200M More Doses

The U.S. government has placed an order for an additional 200 million doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna, Inc.'s MRNA vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the company said in a statement Wednesday. 

The new agreement also carries an option to buy other COVID-19 vaccine candidates from the company's pipeline.

Along with this order, Moderna has a confirmed order commitment for 500 million doses from the U.S. government. It has already supplied 217 million doses to the government.

Related Link: Novavax Vs. Pfizer Vs. Moderna: How COVID-19 Vaccines Stack Up

Moderna expects to deliver 110 million doses in the fourth quarter and 90 million doses in the first quarter of 2022.

"We appreciate the collaboration with the U.S government for these additional doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which could be used for primary vaccination, including of children, or possibly as a booster if that becomes necessary to continue to defeat the pandemic," CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. 

Why It's Important: Moderna is evaluating mRNA-1273 in the pediatric population. The company is also testing a 50 mcg booster regimen of original, variant and multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates.

The company has also filed with the FDA a biologic license application for full approval of the vaccine.

Thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine, Moderna reported revenues of $1.9 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, up sharply from the $8 million reported for the year-ago quarter.

In the first-quarter earnings release, the company said it has an  agreement in place for scheduled delivery of a total of $19.2 billion in product sales, including the sales recorded in the first quarter. The company expects to deliver 200 million to 250 million doses in the second quarter.

The new U.S. order commitment would mean additional revenues over and above what Moderna expected. 

At last check, Moderna shares were down 0.12% at $201.35. Related Link: Why BofA Is Bearish On Moderna Despite COVID-19 Vaccine Success