Moderna Faces Suspension After Offering UK Children £1,500 And Teddy Bears To Join COVID Trials

Moderna, the US biotech giant behind one of the world's leading COVID-19 vaccines, stands on the brink of expulsion from Britain's pharmaceutical industry body after watchdogs uncovered evidence it offered children cash payments and teddy bears to join clinical trials.

In findings that sent shockwaves through medical circles last week, the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) found the company guilty of ten serious breaches of industry regulations, triggering an audit that could lead to Moderna's suspension or expulsion from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

The scandal caps a torrid six months for the vaccine manufacturer, which was already fined £14,000 last October for recruiting teenagers through unauthorised WhatsApp messages and hit with a further £44,000 penalty in February after targeting pre-teens with adverts.

Allegations Against Moderna: Ignorance or Negligence?

At the heart of the controversy are allegations that Moderna representatives offered children £1,500 payments and cuddly toys to participate in Covid vaccine trials—forbidden under the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) regulations, which prohibit financial inducements to minors.

Suspicions deepened after documents emerged contradicting Moderna's timeline of events. While the company insisted it first learned of problems in January 2024 from the Health Research Agency, evidence showed parent campaign group UsForThem had alerted senior executives five months earlier, in August 2023.

Following these revelations, the PMCPA slammed Moderna for demonstrating a 'lack of transparency' and described its behaviour as 'completely unacceptable' and damaging to the pharmaceutical industry's reputation.

The upcoming audit follows a hefty fine handed to Moderna just earlier this year for its reckless advertising.

Is Accountability On the Horizon For Moderna?

The ensuing PMCPA audit represents Moderna's last chance to avoid industry exile.

The audit will assess its culture, governance, and compliance systems. If the audit identifies the inadequacies, the case could be elevated to the ABPI board, possibly resulting in Moderna's suspension or expulsion.

Such a suspension would damage Moderna's reputation, potentially jeopardising its eligibility for future contracts and funding. This measure is reserved for only the most serious infractions, and has been enacted just nine times in the past 40 years.

Marketing Targets Underage Test Subjects

The company's troubles began snowballing last October when a representative was caught sending WhatsApp messages directly to children aged 12-18, promising £1,500 rewards for participating in the NextCove booster trial. Though the messages came via an unnamed NHS paediatric consultant, regulators ruled Moderna ultimately responsible.

"Moderna should have been especially cautious," the PMCPA concluded after fining the company.

That penalty proved just the opening act. By February, Moderna faced fresh sanctions after Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust published social media adverts on its behalf, telling children: 'All our junior volunteers get a lovely certificate and a 'be part of the research' teddy bear." A follow-up message added: 'If you want to take part and are over the age of 12, please get in touch.'

The Children's Covid Vaccines Advisory Council filed a complaint in early March 2024, and PMCPA found Moderna guilty and determined it had breached Clauses 1 and 2 — 'failing to maintain high standards' and 'bringing discredit upon, and reducing confidence in, the pharmaceutical industry.'

UsForThem founder Molly Kingsley condemned the polarising marketing move, saying that bribing 'children with the offer of free teddy bears to take part in a trial of a product posing a degree of risk to the child is sinister and deeply unsavoury behaviour.'

She also expressed concerns about the ethics of testing the vaccine on 'otherwise healthy children,' who had already been determined to be at low risk of contracting COVID in the first place.

Conservative MP Esther McVey went further, branding the episode 'a new low' for pharmaceuticals and dismissing the fines as 'pocket change' for a company with $6.8 billion annual revenue.

'A charge of £14,000 to a company that enjoyed a total revenue of $6.8 billion in 2023 is hardly likely to make them think twice before breaking the rules again,' McVey told Parliament. 'The system is clearly broken and failing to keep patients safe from misleading information and advertising about medicines.'

For a pharmaceutical giant that rode to global prominence on its Covid vaccine success, the fall from grace appears precipitous. Industry veterans note that expulsion would severely damage Moderna's reputation and potentially jeopardise future NHS contracts and research funding.

Moderna's repeated violations, particularly regarding the recruitment of minors, underscore a need for stricter oversight and accountability within the pharmaceutical industry.