Case 1:22-cv-00252-MSG Document 59-6 Filed 03/02/23 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 1049
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`Exhibit 6
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`Case 1:22-cv-00252-MSG Document 59-6 Filed 03/02/23 Page 2 of 5 PageID #: 1050
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`January 24, 2023
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`Stéphane Bancel
`Chief Executive Officer
`Moderna
`200 Technology Square
`Cambridge, MA 02139
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`Dear Mr. Bancel:
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`We write to you today regarding reports that Moderna is considering plans to dramatically
`increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, charging between $110 and $130 per dose for
`commercial distribution.1 Your company has already earned billions in profits from the vaccine,
`which benefited from extensive taxpayer support for research and development,2 and your
`proposed price increase threatens to reduce access to a life-saving vaccine while boosting your
`company’s profits. In addition, your price increase closely follows Pfizer’s October 2022
`proposed increase for its COVID-19 vaccine,3 raising questions about whether, and if so how,
`Pfizer’s announcement has influenced Moderna’s conversations around vaccine pricing.
`Moderna’s reported plans to charge as much as $130 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccines could
`prolong the public health crisis caused by COVID-19 and leave many uninsured Americans
`simply unable to afford the vaccine. We are writing today to request additional information.
`
`Moderna’s planned price hikes come after both Moderna and Pfizer raked in billions during the
`COVID-19 pandemic.4 Moderna earned $12 billion in net income in 2021,5 and earlier this
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`1 Wall Street Journal, “Moderna Considers Price of $110-$130 for Covid-19 Vaccine,” Peter Loftus, January 9,
`2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-considers-price-of-110-130-for-covid-19-vaccine-11673289609.
`2 Boston Globe, “The U.S. Government Has Now Paid Moderna $6b for Vaccine Effort,” Jonathan Saltzman, April
`29, 2021, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/29/nation/us-government-has-now-given-moderna-6b-vaccine-
`effort/;
`U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response,
`Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, “COVID-19 Medical Countermeasure Portfolio,”
`https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/app/barda/coronavirus/COVID19.aspx?filter=vaccine.
`3 Reuters, “Pfizer COVID vaccine price hike to boost revenue for years, rivals may follow,” Michael Erman,
`October 21, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-covid-vaccine-price-hike-
`seen-giving-revenue-boost-years-2022-10-21/.
`4 Reuters, “Pfizer, Moderna seen reaping billions from COVID-19 vaccine booster market,” Michael Erman, August
`13, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-moderna-seen-reaping-billions-
`covid-19-vaccine-booster-market-2021-08-13/.
`5 Securities and Exchange Commission, Moderna, Inc., Form 10-K, p. 106, February 25, 2022,
`https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1682852/000168285222000012/mrna-20211231.htm.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00252-MSG Document 59-6 Filed 03/02/23 Page 3 of 5 PageID #: 1051
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`month, Moderna projected that 2023 sales of the COVID-19 vaccine would be “at least” $5
`billion.6 Moderna used these outsized profits to richly reward company executives and
`shareholders. Your compensation jumped 41 percent in 2021 to $18.2 million due to
`“unprecedented growth.”7 In addition, Moderna announced a $3 billion buyback program in
`August 2022.8
`
`When Pfizer announced plans to raise the price of its COVID-19 vaccine in October 2022,9 we
`warned that these hikes could “pave the way for other vaccine manufacturers […] to raise the
`prices of their vaccines.”10 Moderna’s price hikes, aside from threatening public health, also raise
`questions about how Pfizer’s similar announcement of vaccine price hikes in October 2022 may
`have influenced Moderna’s decision-making process regarding its vaccine prices.
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`The production of the COVID-19 vaccine was an extraordinary achievement that saved more
`than 3 million lives in the United States and helped the world escape from the worst ravages of
`the pandemic.11 But your company didn’t achieve this milestone alone: nearly every step of the
`vaccine development benefited from taxpayer funding, from basic research investment to
`absorbing manufacturing investment and market risk.12 Moderna’s vaccine “grew out of a four-
`year collaboration between Moderna and the National Institute of Health,”13 and the vaccine
`relies on basic technology developed from federally funded research.14 And the company itself
`accepted $10 billion in taxpayer money for research, development, and advanced purchases of
`the vaccine between April 16, 2020 and June 15, 2021.15
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`6 Fierce Pharma, “JPM23: Moderna reaped $18.4B in COVID vaccine sales last year, projects at least $5B in 2023,”
`Kevin Dunleavy, January 9, 2023, https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/moderna-covid-vax-scarfed-sales-184b-
`2022-company-says#:~:text=The%20company%20said%20it%20had,reach%20at%20least%20%245%20billion..
`7 Fierce Pharma, “Moderna CEO’s pay jumps 41% to $18.2M as COVID vaccine giant expands globally,” Angus
`Liu, March 10, 2022, https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/moderna-ceo-stephane-bancel-pay-jumps-41-182m-
`covid-vaccine-giant-expands-globally.
`8 Bloomberg, “Moderna Plans $3 Billion Buyback With Covid Market Shifting,” Angelica Peebles, August 3, 2022,
`https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-03/moderna-to-buy-back-shares-with-covid-shot-outlook-
`steady?leadSource=uverify%20wall.
`9 Reuters, “Pfizer COVID vaccine price hike to boost revenue for years, rivals may follow,” Michael Erman,
`October 21, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-covid-vaccine-price-hike-
`seen-giving-revenue-boost-years-2022-10-21/.
`10 Letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, December 12, 2022,
`https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2022.12.12%20Letter%20to%20Pfizer%20on%20Vaccine%20Price
`%20Hikes.pdf.
`11 CNN, “Covid-19 vaccines have saved more than 3 million lives in US, study says, but the fight isn’t over,” Jen
`Christensen, December 13, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/health/covid-19-vaccines-study/index.html.
`12 Health Affairs, “It Was The Government That Produced COVID-19 Vaccine Success,” Richard G. Frank, Leslie
`Dach, and Nicole Lurie, May 14, 2021, https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20210512.191448/.
`13 New York Times, “Moderna and U.S. at Odds Over Vaccine Patent Rights,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Rebecca
`Robbins, November 9, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/us/moderna-vaccine-patent.html.
`14 Scientific American, “For Billion-Dollar COVID Vaccines, Basic Government-Funded Science Laid the
`Groundwork,” Arthur Allen, November 18, 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/for-billion-dollar-
`covid-vaccines-basic-government-funded-science-laid-the-groundwork/.
`15 Pharmaceutical Technology, “Top Ten Pharma Companies in 2020,” Updated June 1, 2021,
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`2
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`Case 1:22-cv-00252-MSG Document 59-6 Filed 03/02/23 Page 4 of 5 PageID #: 1052
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`Thanks to billions of federal dollars used to support production and delivery of Moderna’s
`vaccine product, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently free for patients in the United States.
`Over 665 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the U.S., and many
`million more worldwide, and more 80 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least
`one dose.16 This is a landmark public health achievement. But this progress may be put at risk
`because of Moderna’s greed, which has the potential to increase vaccination costs for millions of
`un- and underinsured Americans. We urge you to reconsider your proposed price increases and
`ensure COVID-19 vaccines are reasonably priced and accessible to people across the United
`States. And we request answers to the following questions by February 7, 2023.
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`1. How much revenue is Moderna expected to earn from the COVID-19 vaccine for the full
`2022 calendar year?
`2. How much revenue does Moderna estimate it would earn from the COVID-19 vaccine in
`2023 if it does not increase the vaccine’s price?
`3. How much revenue does Moderna estimate it will earn from the COVID-19 vaccine in
`2023 factoring in the increase in the vaccine’s price?
`4. How much profit did Moderna earn from the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021? How much
`profit is the company expected to earn from its vaccine for the full 2022 calendar year?
`5. How much profit does Moderna estimate it would earn from the COVID-19 vaccine in
`2023 if it does not increase the vaccine’s price?
`6. How much profit does Moderna estimate it will earn from the COVID-19 vaccine in 2023
`factoring in the increase in the vaccine’s price?
`7. How much will Moderna charge Medicare, Medicaid, and the VA for the COVID-19
`vaccine in 2023? How much does Moderna estimate that it will charge private insurers
`for the vaccine?
`8. Did Moderna executives, officials, or any other Moderna-affiliated individual have any
`direct or indirect communication with Pfizer about the companies’ price increases for
`their COVID-19 vaccines? If so, please describe the timing and nature of these
`discussions.
`
`https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/top-ten-pharma-companies-in-2020/; Boston Globe, “The
`U.S. Government Has Now Paid Moderna $6b for Vaccine Effort,” Jonathan Saltzman, April 29, 2021,
`https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/04/29/nation/us-government-has-now-given-moderna-6b-vaccine-effort/; U.S.
`Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response,
`Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, “COVID-19 Medical Countermeasure Portfolio,”
`Accessed October 4, 2021,
`https://www.medicalcountermeasures.gov/app/barda/coronavirus/COVID19.aspx?filter=vaccine.
`16 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “COVID-19 Vaccinations in the United States,”
`https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total.
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`Case 1:22-cv-00252-MSG Document 59-6 Filed 03/02/23 Page 5 of 5 PageID #: 1053
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`9. Did Moderna employees have any internal discussions about the Pfizer price increase
`when determining Moderna’s proposed price increase for its COVID-19 vaccine? If so,
`please describe the timing and nature of these discussions.
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`Sincerely,
`
`Elizabeth Warren
`United States Senator
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`Peter Welch
`United States Senator
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