Moderna representatives allegedly offered children and young people money to take part in covid-19 vaccine trials via Whatsapp. UK regulators criticised them for bringing “discredit upon the pharmaceutical industry”.
Children aged between 12 and 18 were offered £1,500 (€1,790) to take part in the NextCove study, which is testing booster doses of Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine in children and adolescents. The children and adolescents were invited by a paediatrician via the Whatsapp app, reports The Telegraph.
After a research ethics committee raised concerns about the amount of money involved, Moderna reduced the reimbursement to £185 (€220), but at least one trial centre will continue to offer the original, higher amount. According to the UK Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations, however, it is strictly prohibited to offer incentives or financial compensation to children or their parents.
The UK’s Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) has ruled that the company’s behaviour amounted to an “inappropriate financial inducement”, and also states that the company has brought “discredit upon the pharmaceutical industry”.
“The panel considered that the unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the particular circumstances of this trial, which involved the recruitment of children, meant that Moderna should have been especially cautious. On balance, the panel considered that this brought discredit upon and reduced confidence in the pharmaceutical industry”, the PMCA said in a statement on the case.
Moderna must give a written undertaking to “cease forthwith” with the proceedings. The company was also ordered to pay £14,000, or almost (€16,700). In 2023, the company had a revenue of around 70 billion SEK (€6 billion).