COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna has announced a deal to supply 25 million doses to Australia, 10 million of which would be delivered this year.
The United States-based biotechnology company announced the deal on Wednesday night along with the news it would soon apply to Australia’s medicines regulator for approval of its jab.
Moderna’s vaccine works with the same mRNA technology as the Pfizer jab and has performed broadly similarly in drug trials to date.
While not approved yet in Australia, it has generally been listed for use in adults of all ages in countries that have rolled it out.
“We appreciate the partnership and support from the government of Australia with this first supply agreement for doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and our variant booster candidates,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
“As we seek to protect people around the world with our COVID-19 vaccine and potentially our variant booster candidates, we look forward to continuing discussions with Australia about establishing potential local manufacturing opportunities.”
The Australian government is yet to make any comment on the deal.
The deal, to supply 10 million doses of Moderna’s original COVID-19 vaccine this year and 15 million booster shots next year, was subject to the Therapeutic Goods Administration approving both jabs, Moderna said.
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