Moderna is a vaccine manufacturer working on a COVID-19 vaccine. Based in Massachusetts, the manufacturer has founded a subsidiary in Basel. According to Basel Area Business & Innovation in August, Moderna was “vigorously supported” when setting up the new company, Moderna Switzerland GmbH. The support ranged from questions on setting up a company and work permits with regard to the COVID-19 situation to suggestions about office spaces. The successful establishment of a subsidiary by Moderna will highlight the attractiveness of the Basel area’s biotech ecosystem.

Lonza will manufacture the mRNA-1273 vaccine for Moderna. According to a press release from the Basel-based pharmaceutical supplier, large-scale production started at its American factory in Portsmouth, NH at the end of September. Production is also set to start at Lonza’s factory in Visp in the canton of Wallis before the end of the year. Lonza plans to manufacture 400 million vaccine doses per year at Visp. Back in May, Moderna and Lonza agreed on a total manufacturing output of 1 billion doses per year.

Moderna has recently published the initial results from a phase 3 study, according to which the vaccine candidate is 94.5 percent effective.

Lonza is also working on the development of a coronavirus vaccine with another American manufacturer: Humanigen. Cameron Durrant, CEO of Humanigen, is quoted in a press release on the collaboration, saying: “This collaboration with Lonza, a global manufacturing leader with expertise in technology transfer and an established track record of working with regulatory bodies for approved and commercialized products, comes at a crucial time to meet production demand for COVID-19 therapeutics this winter.”