Government of Canada announces agreement with Moderna to build mRNA vaccine facility in Canada
On April 29, 2022, The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna, Inc. (“Moderna”) will build an onshore, state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Québec to deliver made-in-Canada vaccines that will support a long-term strategic partnership to enhance pandemic preparedness.
A definitive agreement is being finalized based on a 2021 memorandum of understanding between the Government of Canada and Moderna. Construction of the facility is set to start in 2022 and is expected to be operational in 2024 at the earliest, subject to planning and regulatory approvals.
When completed, the new facility will be able to produce up to 100 million mRNA vaccine doses annually and create hundreds of jobs. In addition to COVID-19 vaccines, the facility is expected to be able to produce vaccines for other respiratory diseases, such as influenza – pending their ongoing development by Moderna and approval by Health Canada.
Further information can be found on Canada Newswire’s website, accesswire.com and on canada.ca.
Moderna is a biotechnology company that 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 rapid clinical and commercial production at scale.