Moderna to Supply Japan With 40 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Moderna said Friday that it is in talks with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to supply the country with at least 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Under the proposed agreement, Moderna would supply the vaccine to Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceuticals for distribution throughout the country beginning next year if the vaccine is approved.

The Massachusetts-based drugmaker is also in discussions with the European Commission to supply 80 million doses of its vaccine to the European Union (DID, Aug. 25).

Japan has been securing advance vaccine supply deals with numerous manufacturers, including an agreement with AstraZeneca for 120 million doses of its vaccine to be distributed starting next year.

Pfizer and BioNTech have also signed an agreement with the Japanese government to supply the country with 120 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine (DID, Aug. 3). — Jordan Williams