U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna's CEO Stéphane Bancel suggested on Wednesday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is approaching. 

Appearing on CNBC, the CEO said it is a "reasonable scenario" when asked if the pandemic was in its final stages.

Bancel said he thinks there was about an 80 percent chance that, as the virus evolves, it will become "less and less virulent."

He added that there is a roughly 20 percent chance that the next mutation could make the virus more virulent than the omicron variant.

The CEO said that, while it is fortunate that omicron was not highly virulent, thousands of people are still dying every day around the world.

Bancel speculated that the virus is going to stay with humans forever, akin to the flu, and people will have to live with it.