Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) shares went sharply lower on Thursday, as the drug giant reported second-quarter revenue that beat expectations but slashed its full-year sales guidance, citing lower expected sales in Europe, a “competitive environment” for respiratory vaccines in the U.S. and the potential for deferred international revenue into 2025.
The biotech company now expects 2024 product revenue to come in between $3 billion and $3.5 billion, down from previous guidance of $4 billion.
The company has started shipping doses of its vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, called mRESVIA, in the U.S. following its approval in May for older adults. It’s Moderna’s second-ever commercially available product after its Covid vaccine, which has seen demand plunge as the world emerges from the pandemic and relies less on protective shots and treatments.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told the media there has been “more intensity of competition” for both RSV and Covid vaccines. He noted that mRESVIA is the third RSV shot to enter the market following jabs from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and GSK (NYSE:GSK), the latter of which dominated the market last year.
He added that “we’ve been having quite intense discussions with governments across Europe” to get COVID vaccine supply from Moderna.
But “some countries, as recently as of last week, have told us that because of a very tight budget … they just don’t have the capacity to buy more vaccine than they need because they already have” another contract, Bancel said.
MRNA dropped $17.34, or 14.5%, to $101.88.
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