Remarkable research on Covid vaccines: Did the vaccines work?
Moderna, which has been losing ground in the post-Covid-19 era, has received another blow with the FDA's latest decision. New vaccines will be tested in limited groups, and the company is downsizing.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the testing of the next-generation Covid-19 vaccine developed by Moderna only in a specific patient group. According to the approval, the vaccine can only be used in older adults and individuals aged 12-64 who are at health risk. This decision fell far short of the approval the company had expected for a broader target audience.
NO DEMAND FOR THE VACCINE, MODERNA AT ROCK BOTTOM
Moderna, which rose to prominence with the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, is experiencing a near-collapse in the post-pandemic period. The company's share price has fallen from its peak of $484 in 2021 to approximately $25 today. The biggest factor in this decline has been the sharp decrease in demand for Covid vaccines and the failure of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine to achieve expected sales success. Since the beginning of the year, Moderna shares have lost approximately 35 percent of their value.
Jared Holz, a healthcare strategist at the financial consulting firm Mizuho, stated, “This is the worst time to be in the vaccine sector. The FDA's orientation is clearly working against Moderna.”
ARE ANTI-VACCINE RHETORIC EFFECTIVE?
The effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines continues to be a subject of debate on a global scale. U.S. Secretary of Health nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently argued in a statement that mRNA-based respiratory vaccines “never worked.” Kennedy also stated that the CDC would no longer routinely recommend the Covid vaccine for pregnant women and children. On the other hand, the internal structure of the FDA has also been damaged. The agency has lost thousands of its employees in recent times.
Moderna has also withdrawn its approval application for its combined vaccine that targets both the flu and Covid-19. The company announced that this decision was made after the FDA requested more flu data. It was stated that the application would be resubmitted after the research is concluded.
CONTRACT STARTED DURING THE BIDEN ERA CANCELLED
Moderna had signed a contract with the government for a bird flu vaccine during the Biden administration. However, the government terminated this agreement on the grounds that it was “scientifically or ethically indefensible.” A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated that the cancellation was based not only on effectiveness but also on criteria of “safety, integrity, and trust.” It was also emphasized that mRNA technology has not yet been sufficiently tested.
In a statement from the Moderna camp, it was said, “The results obtained during the pandemic speak for themselves. The safety profile and effective results generated in more than a billion people worldwide are clearly evident.”
The company announced that it has cut its research budget by 20 percent this fall and laid off some employees. It also decided to narrow its experimental drug portfolio. Revising its financial forecasts for 2025 downward, Moderna also announced that it is planning a new cost-cutting measure of $1 billion.
CASH IS MELTING: IT MAY LAST 18 MONTHS
As of March 31, Moderna held $8.4 billion in cash. However, this figure showed a decline compared to three months prior; at that time, there was $9.5 billion in the treasury. According to Jared Holz, if the company continues at this pace, it could exhaust its cash within 18 months. This situation will force Moderna to either raise capital or take on debt.
Moderna announced that it plans to close the year with approximately $6 billion in cash and investments. Continuing to reduce expenditures, the company aims to stop making losses by 2028. It also informed investors that it would not issue new shares.