Moderna, Inc., (NASDAQ: MRNA) has recently been authorized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea (MFDS) to conditionally market their vaccination Moderna against COVID-19.
The Biotechnology Corporation confirmed today that GC Pharma is authorized for the marketing of their vaccination in South Korea.
The execution of this agreement with the MFDS is expected to begin shortly with the transfer of necessary equipment and technology to Incheon, South Korea at the Samsung Biologics Facility.
The company is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for filling up vaccines, finishing sterilization, packaging, and labeling to enable the production of Moderna. To date, hundreds of millions of Moderna doses have been prepared for market supply outside of the US.
Distribution Schedule and Global Usage
This distribution is expected to start in late 2021. According to the authorities, the third phase of vaccination testing had been completed on November, 30th, 2020.
Moderna has also gained approval for its use to battle Covid-19 in various other countries. These include the European Union, United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Qatar, Canada, USA, Israel, Brunei, Paraguay, Thailand, Philippines, and Japan.
The World Health Organization has also included Moderna in their Emergency Use Listing (EUL), announcing it as safe to use for adults of 18 and above.
Moderna is the pioneer corporation for mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. It had earlier expressed its desire for opening a branch in South Korea.
Two Memorandums of Understanding have also been signed by Moderna and the government of South Korea.
The first one being with the Korean National Institute of Health (KNIH), the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KDCA). The company intends to work on mRNA research on antibodies in the country.
Immunization Investigation Agreements
Furthermore, an agreement has been established between the Republic of Korea and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and also the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) for investigating the immunizations.
The goal of this collaboration is to make a combined effort for examining mRNA vaccinations.
These examinations will be focused on preclinical and well clinical developments of these vaccine doses in combating infections causing higher health concerns in South Korea.
This gives the company a future perspective of opening up an office in South Korea to work together on various mRNA vaccine production.
“We would like to thank the MFDS and the government of South Korea for collaborating with us to achieve this important milestone. We are committed to protecting people around the world with our COVID-19 vaccine and if authorized, with our variant booster candidates. We look forward to continuing discussions with South Korea about establishing potential local manufacturing opportunities.”
– Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
