Moderna Therapeutics announced the opening of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Norwood, Massachusetts.
The digitally-enabled and environmentally sustainable 200,000 square foot clinical development manufacturing plant was built to advance Moderna’s pipeline of mRNA-based medicines. Designed to Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) specifications, the site gives the company the capacity to develop materials for preclinical toxicology studies as well as Phase 1 and 2 clinical development programs, and to manufacture, test and run fill/finish operations for its portfolio of mRNA development candidates.
Moderna has 21 programs in its mRNA pipeline, including potential treatments for different forms of cancer, rare diseases, infectious diseases and heart failure.
The new site also houses the company’s Personalized Cancer Vaccine (PCV) Unit for individualized supply batches of mRNA for potential personalized cancer vaccines. By making this direct investment in PCV next-generation manufacturing, the company can reduce the time it takes to manufacture a dedicated cancer vaccine for individual patients in clinical trials.
“The Norwood site is core to our long-term strategy, enabling us to leverage the potential of our mRNA platform, control our supply chain, and provide the necessary scale and flexibility to support the development of high-quality mRNA medicines for patients in the decades ahead,” said Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. “Opening this new manufacturing facility in Massachusetts was also important as it enables close collaboration with our development and research teams in Cambridge as we advance our mRNA platform and science. We are excited to continue to work with state and local partners, leverage the remarkable innovation and talent from the Massachusetts life sciences and technology sectors, and create new biopharma manufacturing roles as we work to develop new medicines for people with serious and life-threatening diseases.”