- Better than expected Q1 sales and narrower loss
- Covid vaccine sales plunged 90% year on year
- RSV vaccine expected to be approved
US biotechnology firm Moderna (MRNA:NASDAQ) surged 13% after reporting a smaller than expected quarterly loss and reaffirming the timeline for expected regulatory approval of its RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine.
Management said it expects the regulator to announce a decision on 12 May which, if granted means the drug could be launched in the third quarter, in time for the Autumn vaccine campaign.
The company reaffirmed forecasts for 2024 product sales of $4 billion which includes a small contribution of around $170 million from sales of its RSV vaccine.
Moderna shares are up nearly 50% over the last two months suggesting investors are coming around to a more positive view on the company’s post pandemic prospects.
The biotech company has more than 45 products in development with several in late-stage trials.
BETTER THAN EXPECTED
Moderna has been working hard to get its second commercial product approved and launched into the market as sales of its Covid-19 vaccine Spikevax plunge.
The company served-up relatively good news after booking first quarter revenue of $167 million, much better than the $97.5 million expected by analysts. In the same quarter of 2023 Moderna booked revenue of $1.86 billion.
The implied 90% fall in revenue reflects the transition to a seasonal Covid-19 shot market with patients typically taking the vaccine in the Autumn and winter months.
The company has made good progress reducing costs which contributed to a narrower loss per share of $3.07, compared with the $3.58 loss penciled in by Wall Street analysts.
CEO Stephane Bancel said the company has done a ‘great job’ of resizing the company post pandemic.
Chief financial offices James Mock said the company is ‘more encouraged by what we’re seeing from a productivity perspective’ than from the better performance of Covid vaccine sales.
Moderna’s RSV vaccine will go up against GSK’s (GSK) Arexvy and Pfizer’s (PFE:NYSE) Abrysvo which are battling it out for market share. Arexvy holds around two thirds of the new RSV vaccine market and generated £1.2 billion of revenue to GSK in 2023.
