Moderna is to build an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility as part of a £1 billion (US $1.2 billion) deal with the UK government, the Financial Times reports.
It adds that the deal is part of a governmental push to have access to "homegrown" vaccine supplies in the case of another pandemic. Under the terms of the 10-year deal, which is to be finalized this summer, the facility is to manufacture 250 million vaccine doses per year, FT adds. According to the Wall Street Journal, Moderna says the facility will not only produce COVID-19 vaccines but also likely manufacture other mRNA vaccines it has in development, including ones against seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.
Sajid Javid, the UK health secretary, tells FT that the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for resiliency. "There will be future pandemics," he says there. "None of us knows exactly what, when, and how."
The Journal adds that this facility would be Moderna's largest manufacturing outside the US and notes that the company has also revealed plans to build facilities in Australia, Canada, and Kenya.