Thermo Fisher will provide dedicated capacity to scale-up the production of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, and other potential mRNA medicines
Vials containing the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, on a table. (Credit: Zacharie Grossen/Wikipedia)
Moderna has entered into a long-term collaboration with Thermo Fisher Scientific to support the large-scale manufacturing of its Covid-19 vaccine, and other potential mRNA medicines.
The 15-year collaboration builds on Thermo Fisher’s existing partnership to support Moderna’s development pipeline with both clinical research and contract manufacturing.
Under the expanded partnership, the company will provide dedicated capacity to scale-up the production of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, dubbed Spikevax.
Thermo Fisher will offer a range of aseptic fill-finish services including lyophilized and liquid filling, in addition to inspection, labelling and final packaging services.
Thermo Fisher Scientific executive vice president and chief operating officer Michel Lagarde said: “Moderna’s innovation in mRNA technology has been pivotal in the global response to the pandemic and we are proud and privileged to support Moderna over the last decade.
“In expanding our strategic partnership, Moderna will further leverage our scale and depth of capabilities to continue to transform its mRNA platform and bring new breakthrough medicines to patients around the world.”
Spikevax is an mRNA vaccine, which comprises nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding a spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.
Moderna developed the vaccine with support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The vaccine has received full approval in the US, for active immunisation in adults, and is authorised for use in more than 70 other countries worldwide, for different indications.
Last week, the company announced that it is developing three new vaccines based on the same mRNA technology used in its Covid-19 vaccine, including a vaccine for shingles.
Recently, Moderna has partnered with Latin America-based pharmaceutical company Adium Pharma to support the commercialisation of its Covid-19 vaccine across the region.
It has signed a distribution service agreement with Adium, which covers 18 countries in Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.
Moderna chief technical operations and quality officer Juan Andres said: “Thermo Fisher continues to be a trusted partner, bringing a full range of products and services that have enabled us to deliver innovative medicines at an unprecedented speed and scale.
“We are pleased to further expand our collaboration with Thermo Fisher as a long-term manufacturing partner that will enable us to continue to build on our mRNA platform and pipeline.”