Moderna Announces Memorandum of Understanding to Supply up to 110 Million Doses of Its COVID-19 Vaccine to the African Union

Rhea-AI Summary

Moderna has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide up to 110 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to the African Union. Initial deliveries include 15 million doses in Q4 2021 and 35 million doses in Q1 2022. Moderna will supply these doses at its lowest tiered price as part of its global access commitments. The company is also planning to establish a mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa by 2023, aiming to produce 500 million doses annually, showcasing its commitment to improve vaccine access in low-income countries.

Positive

• Agreement to supply up to 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to African Union enhances global access.
• Immediate delivery of 15 million doses shows commitment to vaccine distribution.
• Plans to establish a manufacturing facility in Africa could increase local vaccine production capacity.

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• None.

Doses offered at Moderna’s lowest tiered price in line with its global access commitments

This agreement is in addition to Moderna’s agreement with COVAX for up to 500 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine through 2022

Discussions ongoing for fill/finish manufacturing in Africa in 2023, as stepping stone to Moderna drug substance plant in Africa

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make up to 110 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine available to the African Union. The Company is prepared to deliver the first 15 million doses in the fourth quarter of 2021, 35 million doses in the first quarter of 2022, and up to 60 million doses in second quarter 2022. All doses are offered at Moderna’s lowest tiered price, in line with the Company’s global access commitments.

“We are pleased to be able to supply our vaccine to the African Union through this agreement, which was facilitated in part by the White House team. This is the first step in our long-term partnership with the African Union. We would like to thank the African Union and the White House for helping to make this possible,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “We believe our vaccine can play an important role in addressing the needs of low-income countries given its combination of high Phase 3 efficacy against COVID-19, strong durability in the real-world evidence, and superior storage and handling conditions. We recognize that access to COVID-19 vaccines continues to be a challenge in many parts of the world and we remain committed to helping to protect as many people as possible around the globe.”

The Company is also working on plans to allow it to fill doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in Africa as early as 2023, in parallel to building an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa. This new MoU would be in addition to Moderna’s agreement with COVAX to supply up to 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine from the fourth quarter of 2021 through 2022. Additionally, the Company recently announced an investment of up to $500 million to plan to build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Africa with the goal of producing up to 500 million doses of vaccines at the 50 µg dose level each year.

About Moderna

In 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a science research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across six modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for both clinical and commercial production at scale and at unprecedented speed. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use of one of the earliest and most-effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and autoimmune diseases. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past six years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including regarding: the Company’s development of a vaccine against COVID-19 (mRNA-1273); the Company’s agreement to provide up to 110 million doses of mRNA-1273 to the African Union, the timing and pricing for that potential supply; the Company’s plans to fill doses of mRNA-1273 in Africa; the Company’s plans to construct a manufacturing facility in Africa and the related investment; and the Company’s potential supply of mRNA-1273 to COVAX. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211025005872/en/

Media:

Colleen Hussey

Director, Corporate Communications

617-335-1374

Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com

Investors:

Lavina Talukdar

Senior Vice President & Head of Investor Relations

617-209-5834

Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com

Source: Moderna, Inc.

FAQ

What is Moderna's new agreement regarding COVID-19 vaccines for Africa?

Moderna signed a Memorandum of Understanding to supply up to 110 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the African Union.

When will Moderna begin delivering doses to the African Union?

Moderna plans to deliver 15 million doses in Q4 2021 and 35 million doses in Q1 2022.

What are Moderna's future plans for vaccine manufacturing in Africa?

Moderna aims to establish a manufacturing facility in Africa by 2023, with the capacity to produce 500 million doses annually.

How does this agreement benefit low-income countries?

The doses are offered at Moderna's lowest tiered price, facilitating better access to COVID-19 vaccines for low-income countries.

What is Moderna's stock symbol?

Moderna's stock symbol is MRNA.