Vials of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine are seen at Apotex Pharmaceuticals as the mobile vaccination clinic of Humber River Hospital that vaccinates employees as part of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination campaign, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 13, 2021. REUTERS / Carlos Osorio
Moderna Inc. (MRNA.O) said on Friday that a shortage of COVID-19 vaccine doses from its European suppliers would delay deliveries to countries including Canada and Britain, but shipping to the European Union and Switzerland is on track.
The drugmaker will deliver about 650,000 doses by the end of April, not the expected 1.2 million, said Purchasing Minister Anita Anand.
In addition, one to two million Moderna doses would be delayed from the 12.3 million doses for the second quarter to the third time. read more
These delivery problems complicate European vaccine issues already exacerbated by rare side effects associated with the vaccinations of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), and Britain advises pregnant women to get Moderna or Pfizer shots now. read more
Modern officials have linked issues to the launch of its vaccine supply chain, which includes manufacturer Lonza (LONN.S). The Swiss company is under pressure to start at three new facilities, where it makes active ingredients for Moderna’s mRNA vaccine.
“Vaccine manufacturing is a very complex process and a number of elements, including human and material resources, have been taken into account in this variability,” said Patricia Gauthier, CEO of Moderna Canada.
A spokesperson for Moderna in Europe said that the delivery of the EU and Switzerland in the second quarter is still expected to come within the expected range, without giving the series. read more
Lonza, which also makes Moderna ingredients for US use in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, did not respond to requests for comment on its product lines in Switzerland.
“CRUISING SPEED”
Lonza CEO Pierre-Alain Ruffieux said it could take months for his plants to reach ‘cruising speed’.
With Lonza under pressure, Moderna this week brought in Spaniard Rovi (ROVI.MC), another drugmaker already bottling Moderna’s vaccine, to build new ingredient production facilities in Granada to increase European production. read more
Bottling, also called ‘fill-and-finish’, remains underway at Rovi, as well as a soon-to-be French line at Sweden’s Recipharm RCPHF.PK.
As of April 14, Canada has distributed 2.82 million doses of the Moderna vaccine and 12.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in total.
Moderna aims to deliver 700 million to 1 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide this year, and more than 2 billion doses next year.
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