Moderna, Inc.'s experimental vaccine for COVID-19 is showing promise in early testing, but company CEO Stephane Bancel said Monday no one pharmaceutical company can expect to make enough doses of any vaccine to stop the coronavirus pandemic.
"No manufacturer can make enough doses for the entire planet, but if several vaccines have a chance to get to approval, we have a chance to significantly impact the reduction of infection in disease and go back to a normal life," Bancel said on CNBC's "Squawk Box," while commenting on the news that his company's mRNA-1273 vaccine had produced COVID-19 antibodies in all 45 participants.
Moderna has the capability of producing up to a billion doses a year, he added. The company plans to increase its investment in capital equipment and raw materials, as "every dose is going to matter."
"We have a strong balance sheet, $1.7 billion reported at the Q1," said Bancel, noting that grants have been coming in, including a $1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, he said there has not been much time spent yet on determining a price for the vaccine, as efforts are being concentrated on its development.
Bancel explained that the 45 subjects in the initial trial were healthy adults ages 18 to 55, but older subjects will be added as the trials continue.
He said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been hired to "add an elderly cohort" of people ages 55 to 70, and then other cohorts of people ages 71 and older as the tests continue.
Bancel added that there were minimal side effects among the test subjects.
"At the end, a couple of people [had] a tiny bit of fever like when you get a flu shot it goes away by itself," Bancel said.
Moderna (MRNA) expects to move into later stages of testing in July, and Bancel said the numbers of people being tested will climb into the thousands when the tests reach their third stage.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.