Moderna Stock Drops on Plans To Cut $1.1B in R&D Costs

Moderna (MRNA) shares tumbled in pre-market trading Thursday as the company said it plans to cut costs and suspend or end development of some products as it focuses on later-stage trials.

“The size of our late-stage pipeline combined with the challenge of launching products means we must now focus on delivering these 10 products to patients, slow down the pace of new R&D investment, and build our commercial business,” Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said.

Moderna Expects FDA Approval of 10 New Products Over the Next 3 Years

Moderna said Thursday that based on current trial data, it expects to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for 10 new products over the next three years while trimming its research and development (R&D) spending by about $1.1 billion by 2027. R&D spending is projected to be about $4.8 billion this fiscal year, with plans to cut spending to $3.6 to $3.8 billion by the end of fiscal 2027.

The drugmaker said it now has five vaccines for respiratory illnesses with promising phase 3 trial data, and said at least three will be submitted for FDA approval before the end of the year. The company also has another five vaccines for cancers and other rare diseases that could be approved over the next several years.

Moderna projects fiscal 2025 revenue of between $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion compared to analyst projections of $2.9 billion, and said Thursday that it expects to break even on an operating cash cost basis with a projected $6 billion in revenue in 2028, once more products have been approved.

Moderna shares were down over 12% at $69.29 in pre-market trading Thursday following the news.