A nurse prepares a dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the Oltepesi dispensary in Kajiado, Kenya, September 9, 2021.
Patrick Meinhardt | AFP | Getty Images
Modern said on Thursday it had suspended plans to build a vaccine manufacturing site in Kenya after a sharp drop in demand for its Covid vaccines.
The biotech company said it had not received any vaccine orders for Africa since 2022 and had suffered more than $1 billion in losses and writedowns related to the cancellation of previous orders in coming from the continent.
Moderna’s move aligns with its broader efforts to reduce costs by right-sizing its Covid vaccine manufacturing footprint. The company’s business took a hit last year as demand for such vaccines declined around the world with people relying less on vaccines and protective treatments against the virus.
Moderna shares fell 45% last year, but they are up about 6% this year.
In March 2022, the company announced that it would invest approximately $500 million in the Kenyan site and supply up to 500 million doses of its messenger RNA vaccines to Africa each year. Moderna also planned to begin distributing doses of its Covid vaccine on the continent as early as 2023.
But the company has since determined that demand in Africa “is insufficient to support the viability of the planned plant in Kenya,” Moderna said in a statement Thursday. Nonetheless, the company said it was committed to “ensuring equitable access and meeting emerging demands from African countries” for its Covid vaccine through its global manufacturing network.
The company said it is also working to develop vaccines for diseases that primarily affect the African continent, such as HIV and malaria. The shots are part of Moderna’s broader efforts to expand access to vaccines that are out of reach in many parts of the world.
But these vaccines are still in the early stages of development, the company noted.
“Given this, and consistent with our strategic planning, Moderna believes it is prudent to pause its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya,” the company said in a statement. “This approach will allow Moderna to better align its infrastructure investments with evolving healthcare needs and vaccine demand in Africa. »
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