Moderna and Other Coronavirus Vaccine Makers to Take Reduced Payments If Approval Milestones Not Met

If Moderna and its peers take too long to get their current coronavirus vaccine candidates fully developed and approved, they could pay the price. The government is mandating that they meet ambitious targets for this. If not, they'll receive reduced payments from public-sector entities.

Moderna, for example, will receive $1.5 billion from the government if its MRNA-1273 candidate is approved for use by Jan. 31, 2021. If not, that payout will be chopped to $1.2 billion.

Reuters reported on Friday that similar conditions are in place for other companies busy developing and testing vaccine candidates to block the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and/or the disease it causes, COVID-19.