Moderna, Thermo Fisher Scientific expands collaboration for mRNA medicines

New Delhi: Moderna, Inc. and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. have 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."