Moderna Ramps Down mRNA Drug Substance Production For Its Covid-19 Vaccine At Lonza

Moderna will ramp down production of mRNA drug substance for its COVID-19 vaccine at Lonza’s site in Visp, Switzerland, in Q3 2023. This is part of the Company’s plan to right-size its manufacturing footprint in line with the resizing of the COVID-19 vaccine market due to the move from a pandemic to an endemic market. Moderna expects to absorb the demand currently supported by Lonza at its internal manufacturing site in Norwood, MA for 2024 – 2025. In 2025, Moderna expects additional capacity at its new mRNA manufacturing facilities in the UK, Canada, and Australia when completed. Moderna continues to maintain external drug substance capacity at Rovi in Spain.

Moderna is grateful for Lonza’s support in helping to scale up and meet the manufacturing demands during a global public health emergency. Lonza’s activities in Visp have been crucial in enabling Moderna to deliver its vaccine worldwide, including Switzerland.

At R&D Day, Moderna announced that it continues to expect 2023 COVID-19 sales of $6B to $8B, dependent on U.S. vaccination rates. While 2023 cost of sales remain elevated, the Company is currently resizing its manufacturing footprint and supply base to accelerate gross margin expansion towards its longer-term target of 75-80%.