Astra shakes things up with Covid-19 pricing disclosure

Pricing in biopharma is rather an opaque business, but Covid-19 is a pandemic in which public perception counts for a lot. It is perhaps with this in mind that Astrazeneca today disclosed for the first time that its Covid-19 vaccine AZD1222 might cost just a few dollars per dose.

The revelation, made during the group’s second-quarter media call this morning, threatens to be a serious embarrassment to two of Astra’s coronavirus vaccine rivals. Pfizer has suggested a $19.50 price for its vaccine, while Moderna appears to be going in higher still, at a rumoured $25-30 per dose, or $50-60 per course of mRNA-1273.