Medical syringes are seen displayed in front of the logo of pharmaceutical giant Moderna. (Konstantinos Zilos/SOPA Images/Zuma Press/TNS)
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Moderna Inc. said it secured a $1.74 billion contract to supply the U.S. government with its new omicron-specific vaccine.
The deal is for 66 million doses of a new booster that includes the existing shot as well as components targeting omicron subvariants of the COVID-19 virus. The agreement also allows the government to purchase another 234 million doses of the company's booster shots in the future.
"Moderna's mRNA platform is enabling us to rapidly create mRNA-1273.222, a bivalent vaccine that specifically targets omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, the most prevalent variants of concern in the U.S. today," Stephane Bancel, the company's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The company's stock had gained 1.5% at 9:50 a.m. in New York.
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