Moderna Won't Share COVID-19 Vaccine Recipe With Others — Here's Why

Moderna Inc MRNA does not plan to share the formula for making its COVID-19 vaccine, Chairman Noubar Afeyan said in a recent interview with the Associated Press.

What Happened: Afeyan told the Press that Moderna executives have come to the conclusion that ramping up production is the best way to address global supply.

The Moderna Chair said that the vaccine maker could expand production and deliver billions of extra doses next year.

“Within the next six to nine months, the most reliable way to make high-quality vaccines and in an efficient way is going to be if we make them,” said Afeyan, as per the Press.

See Also: How To Buy Moderna (MRNA) Shares

On the appeal by World Health Organization and others that Moderna should share the recipe for the mRNA vaccine, Afeyan said such appeals did not take into consideration the production capacity.

Why It Matters: Afeyan told the Press that $2.5 billion and a decade were spent in developing the mRNA platform.

Moderna “went from having zero production to having 1 billion doses in less than a year,” said Afeyan. “We think we are doing everything we can to help this pandemic.”

The executive pointed out that Moderna had supplied “quite a significant” amount of vaccine to poorer nations, mostly through its work with the U.S. government.

It is noteworthy, that the U.S. government has also procured doses of Pfizer Inc PFE and BioNTech SE’s BNTX mRNA vaccine for distribution to developing nations through the COVAX initiative. 

Last year, Moderna said it would not enforce its patents through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The company had also expressed its willingness to license its intellectual property by request in the post-pandemic period last year.

Afeyan reiterated that pledge calling it the “right, responsible thing to do,” as per the Press.

Price Action: On Monday, Moderna shares closed mostly unchanged at $305.10 in the regular session and fell almost 0.3% in the after-hours trading.

Read Next: Moderna To Build mRNA Vaccine Factory In Africa

Photo: Courtesy of Marco Verch via Flickr