Moderna says it is already in discussions with other governments about such collaborations: and a facility in Australia could be next in line.
Vaccines for COVID-19 and beyond
The new Canadian facility will manufacture a portfolio of mRNA vaccines against respiratory viruses. Such vaccines will include those against COVID-19, seasonal influenza, RSV and other potential vaccines in development. It will also be ready to leap into action on an urgent basis as a rapid pandemic response facility. The amount of investment or capacity of the new facility has not been disclosed at this stage.
“I would like to thank the Government of Canada for the partnership they have built with us and for their faith in our data, science and early confidence in our mRNA platform in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
“We recently announced data from the final analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study demonstrating that vaccination with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine showed 93% efficacy, with this efficacy remaining durable six months after administration of the second dose.
“As a company, we are committed to global public health. While we are still responding to this pandemic, we also want to ensure we and society learn from it. As Moderna expands internationally, we are delighted to bring mRNA manufacturing to Canada. We believe that this innovative business model will have global impact and implications.
Growing capacity
Moderna’s COVID-19 dose capacity is between 800 million and 1 billion doses for 2021; with this rising to 2 billion to 3 billion doses in 2022 (this figure will be subject to the dose level required for potential booster shots).