Moderna Inks Deal With Rovi for COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Outside the U.S.

Moderna has tapped Spanish pharma company Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi to conduct large-scale, commercial fill-finish manufacturing of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in order to bolster international supply.

Under the agreement, Rovi will provide vial filling and packaging capacity through the establishment of a new production line at its Madrid plant. The company will also acquire equipment for compounding, filling, labeling and automatic visual inspections to support the production of hundreds of millions of doses of the mRNA vaccine candidate. The doses will go towards supplying countries outside the U.S. early next year.

Moderna said it based its selection of Rovi on the company’s strong background in fill-finish operations and its experience as a global manufacturer of drugs.

The U.S. drugmaker has also signed large-scale deals with New Jersey-based Catalent and the Swiss-based Lonza Group for production of its vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, in the U.S. and abroad.

Moderna’s potential vaccine was one of the first vaccines selected for accelerated development by the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed.

The company anticipates launching a phase 3 trial of mRNA-1273 this month (DID, July 6). — James Miessler