Price of coronavirus vaccine to ensure broad access, says Moderna

Moderna Inc plans to price its experimental coronavirus vaccine in a way that ensures broad access, it said on Wednesday, adding that it did not intend to conduct late-stage trials of the vaccine outside the United States.

Moderna began the US government-backed trial on Monday, among a handful of companies that have started final testing of their experimental vaccines on tens of thousands of healthy volunteers.

Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel declined to comment on the specific price of the vaccine on a conference call with analysts.

"We are highly aware of our obligation during the pandemic phase to be responsible in how we price the vaccine," Bancel said.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, that the company was planning to price the vaccine at $50 to $60 per course, at least $11 more than another vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech.

Moderna executives also said the enrollment for the late-stage trial was on track and the company had seen tremendous interest from clinical sites.