Modern Reuters will produce millions of mRNA vaccines

SYDNEY (Reuters) – US pharmacist Modern (NASDAQ 🙂 Inc. will produce millions of mRNA vaccines a year after agreeing to establish one of the largest manufacturing facilities outside of Australia, the United States and Europe.

The agreement, a second commitment by a western mRNA vaccine developer to Asia Pacific, underscores efforts by governments around the world to boost local production and prepare for future pandemic threats after slowing the release of COVID-19 vaccine.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Victoria state plant was expected to produce a dose of 100 million mRNA vaccine annually when it became operational in 2024.

“As we move forward with this new partnership, we are building … our sovereign capacity to manufacture these vaccines here in Australia,” Morrison told reporters in Melbourne.

Morrison did not specify the financial details of the deal, but the Australian media reported that the deal could cost about $ 2 trillion ($ 1.4 trillion).

Modern said in October that it planned to invest $ 500 million to build a factory in Africa to produce 500 million doses of mRNA vaccine each year, including a shot of COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Modern and Pfizer / BioNTech, use mRNA – a messenger of ribonucleic acid – a technology that teaches cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response. The technology can also be used to make vaccines against other respiratory illnesses and seasonal flu.

BioNtech announced a plan in May to set up a new plant in Singapore that will have a capacity of hundreds of millions of doses of its mRNA vaccine when it is launched in 2023.

South Korea, which has an agreement with Moderna to offer the job of bottling COVID-19 vaccine to U.S. companies, also wants to attract mRNA vaccine manufacturers to start local production.

The modern-day announcement was made by the state of New South Wales, Australia, the home of Sydney, which reported the largest daily increase in COVID-19 cases since the blockade ended almost four months ago in early October.

Despite the rise in new infections, officials said they would begin easing the planned cuts in Sydney from Wednesday by asking people to take booster shots to scare away Omicron’s threat.

Australia has inoculated nearly 90% of the population over the age of 16 with two doses and shortened the wait for a booster shot after the Omicron case appeared.

The country has reported about 232,700 cases and 2,113 deaths since the pandemic began.

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