Moderna Inc bucked the slump in global markets after the vaccine maker last night upped its forecast for sales of its Covid jab.
The US pharma now expects to generate sales of US$19bn from its mRNA vaccine, compared to US$18.5bn previously with US$3bn worth of additional doses under option for booster campaigns.
Moderna's fortunes have been transformed by its Covid jab with revenues in 2021 rising to US$18.5bn from US$803mln the year before.
Net income was US$12.2bn against a net loss of US$747mln in 2020.
The group, which has shed more than two-thirds of its value in the past five months, also announced a new US$3bn share buyback and said it was expanding its manufacturing partnerships to help ease some of the production problems it faced last year.
Sales will be weighted towards the second half of 2022 said Moderna as Covid is entering an “endemic" phase.
“In 2021, we delivered 807 million doses with approximately 25% of those doses going to low- and middle-income countries, and we will continue to scale in 2022 to help end the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stephane Bancel, chief executive.
Shares rose 7% to US$145.30 in early trades.