Moderna CEO Hearing Highlights Dissatisfaction With Patient Assistance Programs

There was bipartisan agreement that Moderna needs to ensure that its patient assistance program will be easily accessible for under- and uninsured patients once the US switches to a commercial market for COVID vaccines – a sign of broader frustration with industry copay support initiatives.

Bernie vs Bancel
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel did not see eye to eye at the 22 March hearing. • Source: Nielsen Hobbs; the Pink Sheet | Screenshots and Shutterstock images

US Senators from both ends of the political spectrum expressed concern about Moderna, Inc.’s ability to execute on their promise of a patient assistance program to help Americans afford the company’s COVID-19 vaccine when the US government pandemic emergency ends shifting vaccine access to the commercial market.

The comments, made 22 March at a Senate Health Committee hearing on the planned quadrupling of Moderna’s vaccine price when this shift occurs, might serve as a broader warning to the pharmaceutical industry about politician’s perceptions of the

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