American Biotech company, Moderna, has suspended its construction of a vaccine-manufacturing plant in Kenya after registering a US$ 1 billion loss prompted by less demand for COVID-19 vaccines since 2022.
- The company announced on Thursday April 12, that many countries in Africa had not posted any vaccine orders when COVID-19 cases began to slump globally.
- Moderna said it would need to restrategize its objectives and align its infrastructural intentions with new existing challenges in the continent’s health market.
- Moderna will spend US$4.5 billion this year on research and development of Cancer and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), shelving its Kenyan plans as a cost-cutting strategy.
“Moderna is actively working on the development of public health vaccines, including those for diseases that predominantly affect the African continent, such as HIV and malaria. These initiatives are part of our broader commitment to help address global health challenges through our innovative mRNA technology,” Moderna said in a statement.
However, the manufacturing process of the continent’s most crucial vaccines is still at the formative stage. It would take years before any meaningful attempts are made, pushing Moderna to focus on more rewarding ventures. The company’s share price fell by 0.12% when the stock market closed on Thursday. 2023 was a particularly difficult one for Moderna investors after it lost 45% of its share value.
“Given this, and in alignment with our strategic planning, Moderna believes it is prudent to pause its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya,” the company continued.
The company signed a deal in March 2022 with the former president, Uhuru Kenyatta, promising to invest US$500 million in an mRNA plant that would churn out more than 500 million doses of crucial vaccines to the continent’s most vulnerable. After the finalization of a deal with the government last year in March, Moderna was supposed to operate within a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The move would have seen the company exempted from some taxes, with the government ramping up its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to achieve US$10 billion annually.
