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Saturday, May 06, 2023

ArsTechnica headline, "Moderna rakes in surprise profits ahead of 400% vaccine price hike."

 Closing paragraphs from the item, about a Senate hearing and more:

 "This vaccine would not exist without NIH's partnership and expertise and the substantial investment of the taxpayers of this country," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who led the hearing, said. "And here is the thank you that the taxpayers of this country received from Moderna for that huge investment: They are thanking the taxpayers of the United States by proposing to quadruple the price of the COVID vaccine."

According to a report from The Washington Post last week, Bancel has profited handsomely from the pandemic, which made him a billionaire. Last year, Moderna increased Bancel's salary by 50 percent to $1.5 million and increased his target cash bonus. He also exercised stock options worth nearly $393 million.

Moderna's pay and governance, in general, has raised eyebrows among financial analysts, the Post notes. Moderna board members' pay ranks in the top 25 percent of directors at America's top 500 largest publicly traded companies, with a member's average pay last year set at $475,000. That's well above rival pharmaceutical giants, including Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Merck.