The US government has agreed to pay Pfizer $2B for 100M doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. There’s a separate contract with Sanofi/GSK for an additional 100M doses to the tune of $2.1B. Back in May, AstraZeneca scored a $1.2B contract as an investment in the R & D and with an option to buy 100M doses. That’s basically $20/dose.
The companies expect to manufacture 100M doses by the end of 2020 and more than 1.3B doses by the end of 2021. For more information, click here.
The contracts are through a little known agency called the the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority located in HHS’ Office of the Secretary.
Side Note: Rick Bright was removed from his post as the head of BARDA back in April. He has filed an 89-page whistle-blower complaint with the Office of the Special Counsel. His complaint alleges that he was moved out of the post because of his objections to millions of dollars in contracts that have been awarded on the basis of political connections rather than scientific merit.
