Big Pharma Giant Eyes Massive Price Hike on COVID-19 Vaccine Developed with $1.3 Billion Investment from American Taxpayers
Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement Monday reacting to reports that brand name drug company Moderna is considering hiking the price of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine as funding for the shots shifts from the U.S. Government to the private market.
“Big Pharma planning to hike the price of COVID-19 vaccines as the burden shifts to patients and the health care system is just the latest example of how brand name drug companies can always be trusted to put profits ahead of people,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Moderna must be put on notice that patients and policymakers would find it unconscionable for the company to impose a more than six-fold price increase on a vaccine that was developed with a $1.3 billion investment from American taxpayers.”
“Big Pharma is always looking for ways to price-gouge patients and game the health care system to boost profits,” Aronson added. “That is why policymakers must build on the recent major progress toward holding Big Pharma accountable with additional market-based solutions to crack down on the pharmaceutical industry’s egregious pricing practices and anti-competitive tactics.”
Moderna’s aspiration to increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, branded under the name Spikevax, to $100 was revealed in a presentation to shareholders on September 8. The company has charged the U.S. Government between $15 and $16.50 per shot, according to the New York Times.
Moderna is not the only Big Pharma giant looking to squeeze additional profits out of COVID-19 products through price increases. Eli Lilly was recently caught hiking the price of its monoclonal antibody treatment ahead of a transition to the commercial market. Pfizer has also repeatedly hinted at plans to increase the price of that company’s COVID-19 vaccine as the public health crisis wanes.
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