Moderna to commence mRNA shots production in Kenya

US-based biotech company Moderna, Inc., with the assistance of the US government, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Republic of Kenya to establish Kenya as the location for the company’s mRNA manufacturing facility. Moderna is building this state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa with the goal of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year. The company anticipates investing up to $500 million in this new facility which will focus on drug substance manufacturing on the continent of Africa for the continent of Africa, and could also be expanded to include fill/finish and packaging capabilities at the site. In parallel, Moderna is also working on plans to allow it to fill doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Africa as early as 2023, subject to demand. In its prophylactic vaccines modality, Moderna’s mRNA pipeline includes 28 vaccine programmes including vaccines against respiratory viruses, vaccines against latent viruses and vaccines against threats to global public health.