American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, Inc. has announced plans to build its first African mRNA jab-manufacturing facility in Kenya at a cost of $500 Million.
The company said it had signed an agreement with the Kenyan government to produce up to 500 million doses a year by as early as 2023.
The NASDAQ listed company said the new facility is expected to produce vaccines for the entire African continent with the possibility of expanding the scope to include finish and packaging capabilities at the site.
“Partnerships are key to our goal of deploying vaccines whenever and wherever they are needed,” said Noubar Afeyan, Moderna’s co-Founder and Chairman. “We would like to thank the Government of the Republic of Kenya for their support in bringing our mRNA manufacturing facility to Kenya, and thank the U.S. Government for assisting us in this process. We take seriously our critical role in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and are determined to expand our global impact with our first manufacturing facility on the continent of Africa.”
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