Kenya will be the site of Moderna’s first messenger RNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa, according to the biotechnology company. Moderna had announced its intentions in October to build a facility on the continent but hadn’t said which country would host it.
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The company said it will invest up to $500 million in the facility, and it is expected to produce up to 500 million vaccine doses per year for COVID-19 and other conditions. Researchers are optimistic that mRNA technology could possibly be applied to a host of health problems beyond COVID-19, such as malaria and tuberculosis.
The facility will focus on manufacturing vaccine drug substances, with potential plans to expand its capacity to also include the filling of vaccine vials “as early as 2023, subject to demand.”
The company also announced that it has expanded its commitment to not enforce COVID-19 patents during the pandemic to more broadly never enforcing COVID-19 patents in the Gavi COVAX Advanced Market Commitment for 92 low- and middle-income countries. This comes with the condition that the “manufactured vaccines are solely for use in the AMC 92 countries.” The company added that in other countries, because supply of COVID-19 vaccines is no longer an issue, these countries should “respect the Company's intellectual property.”
It also announced a new initiative “that will offer researchers use of Moderna's mRNA technology to explore new vaccines against emerging or neglected infectious disease.” This will allow researchers globally access to the company’s “preclinical manufacturing capabilities and research and development expertise.”
Moderna had received criticism for not participating in the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa. The hub was established last year with the aim of expanding vaccine manufacturing know-how in low- and middle-income countries.
A partner in the hub recently announced it was successful in replicating Moderna’s vaccine by using publicly available information, but Moderna has refused to support the hub’s efforts. Without the company’s participation, the hub will need to conduct new clinical trials for the vaccine before it can be approved, creating a more lengthy process.
South Africa has also granted Moderna patents related to mRNA vaccines, which has raised concerns that these could at some point block the hub’s efforts. Médecins Sans Frontières wrote in early February that “these patents could create legal risks of potential patent disputes for entities that acquire technologies” from the hub. While South Africa is not one of COVAX’s 92 AMC countries, Politico reports that Moderna said the country "will be party to this pledge." Other African nations not included include Botswana, Mauritius, and Seychelles. The company’s pledge also does not apply to the use of the technology for vaccines against other diseases beyond COVID-19.
Update, March 8, 2022: This piece has been updated with details about Moderna's announcement on patents.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
