Moderna to complete US mRNA manufacturing network with $140 million investment

(Reuters) -Moderna said on Wednesday it would now operate full end-to-end manufacturing for its mRNA ​medicines in the U.S., marking a major ‌step in strengthening the company's domestic production network.

The Cambridge-based company plans to invest ‌more than $140 million to add the final manufacturing step to its existing facility in Massachusetts.

The move will support both commercial and clinical supply as the company seeks to reduce reliance on contract manufacturers.

Construction has begun ⁠at the Moderna Technology Center ‌in Norwood, with the company targeting completion by the first half of 2027. The expansion is expected ‍to create hundreds of skilled biomanufacturing jobs.

"By onshoring drug product manufacturing to our campus in Norwood, Massachusetts, we have completed the full manufacturing loop ​under one roof in the U.S.," Chief ‌Executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement.

Moderna has historically relied on outside partners for the final drug product stage, known as fill-finish manufacturing. The new capabilities will allow the company to control the entire production process domestically.

The company gained global recognition during the COVID-19 ⁠pandemic when it developed Spikevax, one ​of the first coronavirus vaccines, through ​a partnership with the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed program. Its mRNA technology platform is now ‍being used to ⁠develop treatments for infectious diseases, cancer, rare diseases and autoimmune disorders.

Other drugmakers, including Pfizer and Eli Lilly, have ⁠also expanded U.S. manufacturing in recent years as the industry moves to reduce ‌reliance on overseas production.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in ‌Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)