Trump To Pay Moderna $1.5 Billion for Vaccine Candidate Likely Co-Owned by U.S. Government
Note: President Donald Trump and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar today announced a procurement deal under which the U.S. is purchasing 100 million doses of the NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, for $1.525 billion. Research and reporting from Public Citizen and others found that the U.S. government is paying for 100% of Moderna’s efforts to bring a COVID-19 vaccine to licensure, and that the U.S. government may co-own the vaccine itself.
When the president bragged on the campaign trail about his deal-making prowess, this isn’t what people had in mind.
It is absurd that Trump and Azar are touting $30 per course as a good deal for the American people, in light of the consistent and ongoing support from the U.S. government towards mRNA-1273 research, development and manufacturing. With negotiating skills like that, it’s a wonder Trump couldn’t convince Denmark to sell him Greenland. Is this what the “art of the deal” looks like?