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Moderna, a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and Samsung Biologics, a leading global CDMO providing a fully integrated end-to-end contract development and manufacturing service, announced a Manufacturing Services and Supply Agreement in which Samsung Biologics will provide large scale, commercial fill-finish manufacturing for mRNA-1273, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Upon execution of the deal, technology transfer will commence immediately at Samsung Biologics’ facilities in Incheon, South Korea, utilizing a state-of-the-art production line equipped for aseptic fill-finish, labeling, and packaging services to support the production of hundreds of millions of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine intended for the supply of markets outside of the U.S. starting in the third quarter of 2021.
“This vaccine is paramount to people around the world in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and we truly appreciate our client Moderna for entrusting and choosing to partner with Samsung Biologics for the fill and finish of this important vaccine,” said John Rim, CEO of Samsung Biologics. “Due to the high level of urgency in supplying the vaccine to the global population, we have set immediate action plans and schedule to make mRNA-1273 available for commercial distribution in the early second half of 2021.”
“We are pleased to partner with Samsung Biologics for this fill and finish manufacturing, which will help us continue to scale up our manufacturing capacity outside of the U.S.,” said Juan Andres, Moderna’s Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer. “We and our manufacturing partners remain committed to defeating the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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 auto-immune diseases. Today, 24 development programs are underway across these therapeutic areas, with 14 programs having entered the clinic. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past six years.
About Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Biologics is a fully integrated CDMO offering state-of-the-art contract development, manufacturing, and laboratory testing services. With proven regulatory approvals, the largest capacity, and the fastest throughput, Samsung Biologics is an award-winning partner of choice and is uniquely able to support the development and manufacturing of biologics products at every stage of the process while meeting the evolving needs of biopharmaceutical companies worldwide.
