Countries have ordered hundreds of millions of coronavirus vaccine doses over the past several months. And people around the world have flocked to vaccination centers to get a jab. That has benefited one of today's leaders: Moderna (MRNA 1.81%). In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on May 28, 2021, Healthcare and Cannabis Bureau Editor and Analyst Olivia Zitkus and Fool.com contributor Adria Cimino discuss this year's revenue prospects for Moderna -- and how the need for its coronavirus vaccine may be even greater in 2022.
Olivia Zitkus: Between now and the last time you were on to talk about COVID vaccine stocks, Moderna reported earnings for the first time as a commercial stage company, which is really exciting. Revenue was 1.9 billion, 1.7 billion of that was due to its COVID vaccine. My question for you to kick it off is, can investors expect Moderna to keep up the pace? What should we be looking for in the next few quarters?
Adria Cimino: Sure. According to the CEO Stephane Bancel, need may actually be greater next year than it is this year for the vaccine, so we can expect things to be moving along in a very positive way. As far as that, when we think of need, we might wonder, how can need even be greater? But there are a few things on the horizon. First of all, the idea that teens and kids might be needing vaccine. They have trials going in these two groups right now and we already have positive results from the teen trial as the kids trial comes along. Those are potential Emergency Use Authorizations on the horizon, so that could expand the audience. Also, the idea of booster shots coming along. Even the idea of full approval, some people right now might hesitate to get the vaccine saying, "Well, it's just Emergency Use Authorization, I want to wait for full approval." There might be an increase, we would expect an increase in vaccination at that point too. Another sign that things are going well is the idea of an increase in capacity. The company is looking at one billion doses this year and three billion doses to be produced next year. That's what they're aiming for. They're going to be investing in this. If they're ready to invest in this, I would say that that's a really good sign. They have a feeling that this is going to be something. There is a reason to be making that many doses. Again, one final thing is, the company is talking with all the countries that it had supply agreements with this year. They're talking with all of those countries for supply agreements for next year. That's another positive sign. And they already have orders for next year from Israel and Switzerland. A lot of positive things for Moderna.
