The vaccines from the companies Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna are considered to be the best currently available against the coronavirus. Manufacturers know that too. They have now revised their prices upwards again.
The vaccines are considered to be the most important means to put an end to the corona pandemic. And the manufacturers, too, know about the value of their development, especially Moderna and Biontech / Pfizer. The vaccines are considered to be the superstars among vaccines. Not only are they the most sought-after, but also the most expensive on the market. And they are getting more and more expensive. As it is now reported, the companies have raised the price again – and properly.
As the “Financial Times” reported, both mRNA vaccine manufacturers have caught higher prices in their most recent contracts with the European Union. Accordingly, a vaccination from Biontech / Pfizer will now cost around four euros more, namely around 19 euros. And the company Moderna, which already provided the most expensive vaccine, has again increased the price from around 19 euros to around 21.50 euros. As the “New York Times” reported, the European Commission declined on Monday to comment on the price increases and invoked confidentiality clauses.
Special status mRNA vaccine
However, Clément Beaune, Minister for European Affairs in France, confirmed the rise in prices in an interview with Radio France International. He did not give exact numbers. Instead, he tried an explanation. Since the delta variant of the virus is spreading, the higher prices are justified. After all, the vaccines are a more sophisticated product that is adapted to the variant.
It has long been known that mRNA vaccines will be the backbone of the vaccination campaign in the EU in the future. This was decided after the vaccine that had originally been used, Astrazeneca and Johnson & Johnson, repeatedly caused problems. “We must now concentrate on technologies that have proven their value: mRNA vaccines are a clear case for this,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in April. In May the EU signed a third contract with Biontech / Pfizer. In addition, the contract with Moderna was adjusted.
Huge profit margin
This is lucrative for manufacturers. The vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer alone is said to have made more than 6.5 billion euros in sales in the past three months. At the end of the year it should be around 28 billion, according to the forecast. This is a thorn in the side of critics. The activists of The People’s Vaccine Alliance recently criticized the fact that the manufacturers are using their position to make as much profit as possible and thus unnecessarily jazz up vaccine prices – at the expense of poorer countries.
According to an analysis by the activists, more than 90 percent of the mRNA vaccines have so far gone to rich countries. They have been charged up to 24 times the estimated operating costs. The exact production costs are not known. The estimate is based on studies of mRNA production techniques conducted by Public Citizen in collaboration with Imperial College engineers. According to this analysis, the production costs for a dose of the Biontech / Pfizer vaccine are around one euro and the Moderna vaccine around 2.40 euros. If you believe this estimate, it would mean a huge profit margin. With this calculation, however, it should not be forgotten that the companies also have to recoup the development costs.
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