***WATCH: SENATOR MURRAY’S FULL QUESTIONING HERE***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the HELP Committee, pressed Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Moderna, Inc., about the company’s plans to quadruple the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, which was developed with significant taxpayer funding and through cooperation with the National Institutes for Health (NIH).
“We are talking about a vaccine that taxpayers invested $12 billion in—a vaccine that was once $15—and you’re now planning to price at $130 despite the fact that it just costs about $3 to make. As we know, that cost is going to get passed onto consumers—whether it’s through higher premiums or higher administration fees. So, I want to know: what is your answer to this Committee and really to the public about the need for such a drastic quadrupling of the cost?” said Senator Murray.
Senator Murray went on to grill Mr. Bancel about how Moderna plans to live up to its word to keep the vaccine accessible to people who are uninsured, what assistance it will be providing, and how they plan to ensure seeking assistance is not a burdensome process.
During her questions, Senator Murray also raised the issue of how pregnant women were underrepresented in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines—making it difficult for patients and providers to understand when they should get vaccinated.
“And my final question really is about COVID-19 vaccine trials that excluded pregnant populations, which left moms and their doctors with very little information to guide them, it caused a lot of confusion,” said Senator Murray. “Could you just talk to us about your decision to exclude pregnant patients from trials?”
Senator Murray sent a letter to NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as early as March 2020 raising her concerns about how pregnant women have historically been underrepresented in clinical trials and urging that their needs be considered as COVID vaccines and therapeutics were developed—and she continued to press NIH and others on this issue throughout the pandemic.
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