Shares of the vaccine maker fell 17.1% to $65.88 at midday.
The company expects sales of between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion in 2025, below analysts’ forecasts of $3.74 billion, according to LSEG data. It was also below $3 billion to $3.5 billion in projected sales for midpoint 2024.
The company, which has been struggling to get away with its Covid vaccine, told an investor conference in New York that the regulatory process for flu and cancer vaccines will take longer than it suggested.
Moderna is expected to have $6 billion in cash on hand by the end of 2024, which was on the lower end of his previous view of $6 billion to $7 billion, according to Jefferies analyst Michael Yee.
Its cost savings will include cutting $1.1 billion from research and development from 2026, with most of the action in 2027. Over the next three years, and because of that we really want to start pacing ourselves,” said Stephen Hogg, president of Moderna.
The company expects to break even on an operating cash cost basis in 2028, two years later than its previous scenario.
Next year’s forecast reflects the uncertainty of the Covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) markets in the US, Chief Financial Officer James Mock said in an interview. Moderna said RSV vaccine adoption has been slower than expected.
The forecast also includes Moderna’s prediction that each of the 10 new products it expects to be approved by 2027 will begin generating meaningful revenue in the year after approval, he said.
“For 2025, we may have some new product approvals assumed, but not much revenue from that,” Mock said.
The company said new product launches will drive average annual revenue growth of 25% between 2026 and 2028.
Moderna said it plans to submit an FDA application this year to expand approval for its RSV shot to high-risk adults under the age of 60, following new data from a late-stage trial.
Regulators last May approved Moderna’s mRESVIA shot for RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease in adults age 60 or older, pitting it against rival vaccines from GSK and Pfizer.
The company said it has dropped its request for fast-track approval as part of its FDA application for a standalone influenza vaccine. He will instead focus on his application for a combination shot to protect against Covid and influenza, which he plans to submit this year.
Moderna said mRESVIA met all immune-response targets and appeared to be safe and well-tolerated in adults 18 years and older, but did not provide further details on the new study’s findings.
Pfizer said in August that its Abrisvo shot, which was approved last year for adults over age 60, produced a strong immune response in high-risk adults ages 18 and older.
The FDA in June expanded the use of GSK’s Arexvy vaccine to adults ages 50 to 59. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instead recommends the RSV shot for all adults age 75 and older, as well as those ages 60 to 74. Medical conditions increase the risk of severe RSV.
Moderna said initial FDA feedback did not support accelerated approval based on data from a mid-stage study for its cancer vaccine developed with Merck.
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