© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Boxes containing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi, U.S. December 20, 2020. Paul Sancya/Pool via REUTERS
(Reuters) – Moderna (NASDAQ:) Inc will make certain contingent development, commercial and regulatory milestone payments to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) related to the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the company said in a filing on Friday.
Moderna and the U.S. government agency had entered into a license agreement in December related to certain patents concerning the COVID vaccine products, the filing showed.
The vaccine maker first disclosed the deal in its fourth-quarter earnings release stating it missed profit estimates hurt by the royalty payment to NIH.
Moderna said under the agreement it would pay low single-digit royalties on future net sales and also minimum annual royalties.