The European Commission has approved an agreement to secure 80 million doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine candidate against COVID-19, as part of the goal to secure access to a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for Europe.
Under the terms of the proposed agreement, the European Commission has the option to increase its purchase of mRNA-1273, to a total of 160 million doses. The agreement will be finalised following a review period by the European Union Member States. This announcement follows the conclusion of talks with the European Commission that began on August 24, 2020. Delivery of the vaccine could begin as early as the first quarter 2021 if it is approved for use by the European Medicines Agency human medicines committee, which started a rolling review of mRNA-1273 on November 17.
“We appreciate the confidence the European Commission has demonstrated in our mRNA vaccine platform by including mRNA-1273 in their portfolio of vaccines. We recognize that tackling this global pandemic will require a number of solutions, and we are proud of the role Moderna has been able to play in this global effort,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. “We have scaled up our manufacturing capacity outside of the United States with our strategic partners, Lonza and Rovi, to be able to deliver approximately 500 million doses per year and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year beginning in 2021, if approved.”
In Europe, Moderna is working with Lonza and ROVI for manufacturing and fill-finish. This is a dedicated supply chain to support Europe and countries other than the United States that enter into purchase agreements with Moderna. It remains on track to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses globally in 2021. If the relevant regulatory approvals are granted, Moderna expects to begin shipping mRNA-1273 to the European Union beginning in December 2020.
