COVID-19: Moderna announces deal with Australia to produce 100MN mRNA vax doses each year

United States pharmaceutical firm, Moderna Inc., has announced an agreement with the Australian government to build an mRNA vaccine manufacturing unit in Victoria, in a bid to bolster direct access to rapid pandemic response capabilities. The contemplated framework would build the foundation to support the production of 100 million mRNA doses to fight respiratory viruses. Both Moderna and the Australian government are committed to finalise the agreement, the US-based biotech company said in a statement released on Sunday (Dec13).

The second such deal for the company in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to begin operations from 2024. As per Australian media reports, the deal is said to close around $1.43 billion. Meanwhile, Australian PM Scott Morrison said that the firm, set in Victoria state, is expected to manufacture up to 100 million units of the company's "pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines."

"By advancing with this new partnership, we are building ... our sovereign capability to manufacture these vaccines here in Australia," Australian PM Scott Morrison told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday, as quoted by CNBC.

Announcing the deal, Moderna assured its commitment to working with the government, health care professionals, and other key stakeholders to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The setup in Victoria will be built on an urgent basis to ramp up vaccine production and fight against the novel virus amid the ongoing scare of Omicron and Delta sub-lineage AY.4, which was reported from South Africa on November 24 and China on December 12, respectively. The company is also in discussions with other governments about potential collaborations built on a similar model, Moderna added in its statement.

“We are excited to expand our presence and continue our long-term collaboration with the Australian and Victorian Governments,” said Michael Azrak, Moderna’s General Manager of Australia. “We look forward to completing the necessary discussions and starting work to develop onshore mRNA manufacturing capability here in Australia.”

Among other engagements, Moderna has planned to invest up to $500 million to build a manufacturing unit in Africa. The company is expected to produce 500 million doses of its mRNA vaccines each year, including its COVID shot. South Korea is also seeking a deal with Moderna to locally produce COVID mRNA shots.

NSW reports the highest daily caseload

The announcement of Moderna's deal came as New South Wales on Sunday recorded the highest daily COVID caseload since the nearly four-month lockdown that ended in October. Although Australia is one of the most vaccinated countries, still on December 13 the island continent recorded 1,556 cases in the previous 24 hours. Meanwhile, health officials in Sydney have also planned on relaxing tight COVID measures from coming Wednesday (Dec. 15), urging people to get their booster shots in the wake of the Omicron scare. To date, Australia has recorded about 2,32,700 COVID-19 infections and about 2,113 COVID-related fatalities.

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