Agreement to leverage dedicated commercial fill-finish manufacturing capacity in the US for mRNA vaccines and therapies
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., & WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced a 15-year strategic collaboration agreement to enable dedicated large-scale manufacturing in the U.S. of Spikevax®, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, and other investigational mRNA medicines in its pipeline.
“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,” said Juan Andres, Moderna’s chief technical operations and quality officer. “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.”
Over the past several years, Thermo Fisher has been partnering with Moderna to support its development pipeline with both clinical research and contract manufacturing services. This included the quick scale-up of aseptic fill-finish services and packaging of its COVID-19 vaccine. As part of this expanded agreement, Thermo Fisher will now provide dedicated capacity for a range of aseptic fill-finish services including lyophilized and liquid filling. In addition, the company will provide inspection, labeling and final packaging services.
“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,” said Michel Lagarde, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “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.”
About Moderna
In 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a 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 seven 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. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past seven years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.
About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue of approximately $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The following constitutes a “Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating to: the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; the need to develop new products and adapt to significant technological change; implementation of strategies for improving growth; general economic conditions and related uncertainties; dependence on customers’ capital spending policies and government funding policies; the effect of economic and political conditions and exchange rate fluctuations on international operations; use and protection of intellectual property; the effect of changes in governmental regulations; any natural disaster, public health crisis or other catastrophic event; and the effect of laws and regulations governing government contracts, as well as the possibility that expected benefits related to recent or pending acquisitions may not materialize as expected. Additional important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth in Thermo Fisher’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are on file with the SEC and available in the “Investors” section of Thermo Fisher’s website, ir.thermofisher.com, under the heading “SEC Filings” and in Moderna’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are on file with the SEC and available in the “Investors” section of Moderna’s website, investors.modernatax.com, under the heading “Financials”. While Thermo Fisher or Moderna may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, each of Thermo Fisher and Moderna specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if estimates change and, therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing either Thermo Fisher’s or Moderna’s views as of any date subsequent to today.
Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and Moderna, Inc.