Modern Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA), a pioneer in the COVID-19 vaccine race, announced Thursday a manufacturing collaboration agreement with the contract development and manufacturing organization. Catalent Inc (NYSE: CTLT).
What happened: The collaboration agreement relates to the large-scale manufacture of the filler finish of the Moderna mRNA vaccine for the new coronavirus, codenamed mRNA-1273, at the Catalent facility in Bloomington, Indiana.
The agreement requires Catalent to provide vial filling and packaging capacity, as well as additional personnel required to support the production of 100 million initial doses of mRNA-1273 to supply the US market beginning in the third quarter of 2020.
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Catalent will also provide clinical supply services from its facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including packaging and labeling, as well as warehousing and distribution to support Moderna’s Phase 3 clinical study, the companies said.
“We appreciate this collaboration with Catalent and the flexibility of their team to deliver critical fill and finish capabilities for mRNA-1273 at an unprecedented rate,” Juan Andrés, director of technical operations and quality for Moderna, said in a statement.
Whats Next: Moderna mRNA-1273 is being evaluated in separate Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies, with published provisional results from the Phase 1 study supporting its immunogenicity and safety.
The company plans to start a Phase 3 study in July.
Moderna has an agreement with the Swiss CDMO Lonza to supply 500 million to one billion 100 μg doses per year.
Moderna and Catalent said today that they are in talks to ensure filling and finishing capacity for continuous production of hundreds of millions of additional doses.
MRNA, CTLT Share Price: Moderna shares fell 4.8% to $ 61.73 at press time on Thursday, while Catalent shares rose 3.18% to $ 72.70.
Related links:
Modern Frontrunner coronavirus vaccine appoints former Amgen executive as chief financial officer
Moderna analyst says coronavirus vaccine candidate has 65% chance of success
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