Close-up of the Modern Vaccine at the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic of the Park County Health Department for People Over 80 on January 28, 2021 in Livingston, Montana.
William Campbell | Getty Images
Modern, which seeks to increase production of its Covid-19 vaccine, met with Nexus Pharmaceuticals to discuss the manufacture of the shot at the company’s new plant in Wisconsin, which has the capacity to process and fill 30 million doses per month, sources who know the subject. dit.
The meeting between Moderna and the specialty drug maker took place on Tuesday, sources said.
Senior White House and administration officials, including David Kessler, Covid’s chief response scientist, and Tim Manning, Covid-19’s supplies coordinator, have facilitated presentations and discussions between Nexus, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, according to two sources.
Although President Joe Biden has said there will be enough vaccines for all adults in the United States before May, there would still be supply problems by the end of the year, especially if people need a booster shot at some time to protect yourself against virus variants that may be circulating.
According to sources, it is still unclear whether the meeting will result in an agreement to manufacture vaccines at the Nexus plant. One source said funding for the Defense Production Act will be essential for an agreement to work.
“Modern is looking to produce more vaccines … and Nexus has the ability to do that,” one source said.
Illinois-based Nexus does not currently manufacture vaccines against Covid-19, but has the capacity to increase production at the new Wisconsin plant, one source said.
The White House declined to comment on the meeting. Nexus and Moderna also declined comments.
On Tuesday, Moderna said it was on track to deliver 300 million doses to the United States by the end of July, in line with its commitments. Moderna delivered 45 million vaccines to U.S. states in March.
Moderna’s chief executive said on Wednesday that the company is unlikely to significantly accelerate vaccine production in the coming months, although he expects production to have increased significantly by 2022.
The Biden administration has already foreseen commitments among rival drug manufacturers to increase Covid-19 vaccine production.
In March, Biden announced that Merck & Co. would help manufacture the one-shot coronavirus vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
Despite their efforts, there have been major setbacks.
For example, about 15 million doses of J&J vaccine were wasted due to contamination with ingredients from the AstraZeneca shot at a Baltimore plant that produced both. This emerging BioSolutions installation will now produce only the J&J feature.
Meanwhile, U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine, while analyzing six cases of rare cerebral blood clots in women under 50 who received the shot.