11-11-2020, 03:21 PM
(11-11-2020, 02:12 PM)Goalpost Wrote: So what I heard as far as funding was this. Pfizer was offered 1.4 billion in development by the govt but declined. They then developed on their own and sold doses to the govt for 2 billion. Pfizer actually netted better doing it their way with their own money. That's kind of repeating things but adding in the info of the 1.4.
Not quite how it works. They signed an agreement to sell 1.9 Billion worth to the U.S. government if in fact, they developed one that worked, meaning if they didn't they got nothing. They took all the risk and made all the investments to make the vaccine without any assurances it would pan out. Even had they accepted the money for development, that did not preclude them from charging the U.S. Government the same 1.9 Billion to buy the vaccine if it worked.
Moderna for example DID accept money from operation ($955 Million) warp speed to develop their vaccine, but they also signed a 1.5 Billion dollar contract with the government for their vaccine if it worked. Basically, we both paid a company to develop a vaccine in this case then are going to pay them to give us the vaccine we paid them to develop. In contrast Pfizer is just charging us for the vaccine they developed like any company would, which has nothing really to do with "Warp Speed" other than the contracting process got a little easier than normal GSA purchasing.
