Recipharm, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has signed a letter of intent with Moderna, a U.S.-based biotech, to formulate, fill and finish mRNA-1273, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The activity will be performed in Recipharm’s drug product manufacturing facility located in Monts, France. Recipharm has reserved capacity to support the anticipated demand for the vaccine and is already in the process of recruiting additional staff and making certain investments to enable technology transfer and scale-up to begin imminently.
 
“We are delighted to be working with Moderna on this vital project in order to support the fight against COVID-19,” said Thomas Eldered, chief executive officer, Recipharm. “Our operations in France are ideally suited to perform this work by combining our technical and operational knowhow to deliver high-quality pharmaceutical manufacture of biologics with a challenging timeline. We anticipate that the final agreement will be finalized during December.”