Moderna COVID Vaccine: Firm to Expand Norwood Plant to Boost Production

Moderna plans to boost production of its COVID-19 vaccine by 50% by expanding its facility in Norwood, Massachusetts.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical firm said in a statement that the project will expand the site’s production and lab space from some 300,000 square feet to some 650,000 square feet. The firm said it expects to ramp up production there in late 2021 or early 2022.

“Our manufacturing facility has been core to our long-term strategy and has enabled us to provide the scale and flexibility to support the development of our mRNA medicines and vaccines including our COVID-19 vaccine,” CEO Stéphane Bancel said.

Moderna released findings on Tuesday from its phase three trial which showed that its coronavirus vaccine is 90% effective at preventing infections and more than 95% effective against severe disease up to six months after the second dose.

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“We believe that this investment and expansion at our technology center will allow us to continue to optimize our mRNA products as we explore new pharmaceutical delivery forms such as prefilled syringes and lyophilized products.”
Bancel said the firm is committed to “minimizing our environmental footprint” as it expands.

The expansion will also allow the company to increase production of preclinical for research and development, the statement said.

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is one of three being administered in the U.S. along with those developed by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.