Moderna has announced that it has paused its plans to build a vaccine manufacturing facility in Kenya due to a post-pandemic decline in demand for COVID-19 vaccines.
Details
The move is in line with Moderna’s strategy of resizing its manufacturing network to cut costs, even as it aims to spend around $4.5 billion this year in research and development of several new vaccines, including for cancer and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Many of the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines that Moderna is developing, like for HIV and malaria, are at an early stage.
What They’re Saying
“Given this, and in alignment with our strategic planning, Moderna believes it is prudent to pause its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya,” the company said.
Zoom Out
Moderna, in 2022, said it would invest about $500 million in the Kenya facility and supply as many as 500 million doses of its mRNA vaccines to Africa each year.
It also had plans to start filling doses of its COVID vaccine in the continent as early as 2023.
Between The Lines
Moderna has not received any vaccine orders for Africa since 2022 amid waning demand globally.
The drugmaker said it had taken more than $1 billion in losses and write-downs related to the cancellation of previous orders from Africa.
Source: Reuters
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