Moderna slashes manufacturing costs amid declining salesModerna slashes manufacturing costs amid declining sales

Jamey Mock, chief financial officer (CFO) of Moderna, said the company paid $238 million to terminate a contract manufacturing agreement as part of the company’s “continued effort to optimize [its] manufacturing footprint, following the strategic resizing initiative launched in 2023 to align with the transition to a seasonal endemic market.”

Moderna decreased operational costs in 2024 compared to 2023 to match decreased revenue from lessening demand in its Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, which is still far and away its top-selling vaccine. In research and development (R&D), the company reported expenses of $1.1 billion, a 20% year-over-year decline over 2023. “The decrease was primarily driven by lower clinical development and manufacturing costs across our COVID, RSV, flu, and combination vaccine programs,” Mock said.

Although the company has worked to shed unused capacity along with the sunken costs associated with it, more must be done. “We did have $500 million of inventory write-downs in 2024 and about $100 million of unutilized manufacturing capacity,” Mock said. “And so, at $600 million on $3 billion of sales, that is obviously not what good looks like yet.”

But as Moderna plans for the remainder of 2025, not all of its plans are about cost reduction. In addition to reducing its footprint, Mock also credited greater integration of digital tools to help drive efficiency. And plans for the company’s new manufacturing sites in Australia, Canada, and the US are still pushing ahead.

Financially speaking

For all of 2024, Moderna reported sales of $3.1 billion, which the company admitted were at the lower end of its revised guidance and a 53% decline from 2023.

“Sales volume saw a decline compared to last year, primarily due to lower vaccination rates, lower market share and increased competition,” said Jamey Mock, chief financial officer (CFO) of Moderna. “However, we observed signs of stabilization, and believe [the] COVID market will remain durable over time.”

Mock said the company’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine accounted for the vast majority of sales, while the Q3-launched mRESVIA vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) lagged behind with just $25 million for the year. Nevertheless, Mock expressed optimism for mRESVIA’s future. “We see long-term opportunity to expand our presence in this market, both in the US and internationally.”