Moderna to Uncle Sam: My Vaccine, Not Yours
The company should recognize government scientists’ indispensable contribution to a years-long research effort.
National Institutes of Health scientists were in on this invention.
Photographer: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty ImagesModerna Inc. has been a marvel of the pandemic, a startup powered by science, private and public funding and smart people that produced a Covid-19 vaccine in record time. It helped save lives and shortened the course of an epic public health crisis.
Along the way, the company and its investors have also reaped vast financial rewards. Its share price has soared 116% over the past year and more than 650% since March 2, 2020, just before pandemic lockdowns began in earnest. Its market valuation over that latter stretch has grown from $9.8 billion to about $91.7 billion. It posted earnings of $3.3 billion on revenue of $5 billion in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $234 million against revenue of $158 million in the same period a year ago. The company recently said it has signed vaccine orders for 2022 worth $17 billion — which would make it one of the best-selling drugs in the world.