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MODERNA slashed its 2024 forecast for sales of its Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines by up to 25 per cent, or US$1 billion, on Thursday (Aug 1) as it expects very low sales to the EU this year.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company had previously said it expected roughly US$4 billion in sales for the year, which was already the lowest figure for annual revenue since it launched its Covid vaccine in late 2020 – the company’s first commercial product.
Moderna reported a net loss of US$1.3 billion, or US$3.33 per share, for the second quarter. Analysts had expected a loss of US$3.39 per share, according to LSEG data.
Total revenue for the second quarter was US$241 million, compared to US$344 million, a year ago.
The company said it now expects to make between US$3 billion and US$3.5 billion in sales for the year following discussions with EU officials over Covid-19 vaccine contracts for the bloc.
Moderna chief financial officer James Mock told Reuters it had yet to secure a joint purchasing agreement with the EU, although it was still in discussions.
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“Given where we are in the season combined with where we are in the budget season for many countries and their existing supplies, we feel there’s a very low probability that we’ll have very much (EU) sales in 2024,” he said.
Moderna said it had also cut its forecast due to potential revenue deferrals for some Covid international sales into 2025 and an increasingly competitive environment for both Covid and RSV vaccines in the US
Those deferrals were one of the biggest factors in the US$500 million range Moderna gave in its new 2024 sales forecast, the CFO said.
Moderna has been banking of revenue from newer mRNA shots, including its RSV vaccine mRESVIA and an experimental Covid-flu combination vaccine, to make up for waning demand for its Covid-19 shot.
Mock said the company still expects to return to sales growth in 2025.
Analysts this week said they expected sales of Moderna’s mRESVIA, its second approved product, to lag RSV shots from rival drugmakers Pfizer and GSK this year.
They forecast US$370 million in 2024 sales of mRESVIA, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on May 31, compared with a combined US$1.2 billion for the GSK and Pfizer RSV shots, according to LSEG data.
Moderna said it started shipping doses of mRESVIA in the US last month, following June recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that RSV shots be given to adults aged 60 and over who did not get a vaccine last year.
Sales of Moderna’s Spikevax Covid-19 vaccine were US$184 million for the quarter, down 37 per cent on the previous year but well ahead of analysts’ average estimates of US$66.42 million. REUTERS
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