Moderna halts plans to build Kenya vaccine plant as Covid shot demand plunges

Moderna
on
Thursday
said
it
has

paused
plans
to
build
a

vaccine-manufacturing
site
in
Kenya
after
a
steep
drop
in
demand
for
its

Covid
vaccines.

The
biotech
company
said
it
has
not
received
any
vaccine
orders
for
Africa
since
2022
and
has taken
more
than
$1
billion
in
losses
and
write-downs
related
to
the
cancellation
of
previous
orders
from
the
continent.

Moderna’s
decision
aligns
with
its
broader
effort
to
cut
costs
by
resizing
its
Covid
vaccine-manufacturing
footprint.
The
company’s
business
took
a

major
hit
last
year
as
demand
for
those
jabs
waned
worldwide,
with
people
relying
less
on
protective
vaccines
and
treatments
against
the
virus.

Shares
of
Moderna
fell
45%
last
year,
but
the
stock
is
up
around
6%
this
year.

In
March
2022,
the company
said
it
would
invest
about

$500
million
in
the
Kenyan
site
and
supply
as
many
as
500
million
doses
of
its
messenger
RNA
vaccines
to
Africa
each
year.
Moderna
also
had
plans
to
start
filling
doses
of
its
Covid
vaccine
in
the
continent
as
early
as
2023.

But
the
company
has
since
determined
that
demand
in
Africa “is
insufficient
to
support
the
viability
of
the
factory
planned
in
Kenya,”
Moderna
said
in
a
statement
on
Thursday.
Still,
the
company
said
it
is
committed
to “ensuring
equitable
access
and
meeting
emerging
demands
from
African
nations”
for
its
Covid
shot
through
its
global
manufacturing
network.”

The
company
said
it
is
also
working
to
develop

vaccines
for
diseases
that
predominantly
affect
the
African
continent,
such
as
HIV
and
malaria.
Those
shots
are
part
of
Moderna’s
broader
effort
to
expand
access
to
vaccines
that
are
out
of
reach
in
many
parts
of
the
world.

But
those
jabs
are
still
in
the
early
stages
of
development,
the
company
noted.

“Given
this,
and
in
alignment
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
the
evolving
healthcare
needs
and
vaccine
demand
in
Africa.”