Moderna, a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, and the Government of the Republic of Kenya, finalized an agreement to establish an mRNA manufacturing facility in the Republic of Kenya.

This will be Moderna’s first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa. In partnership with the Government of the Republic of Kenya, Moderna will build a state-of-the-art mRNA facility in Kenya to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines each year.

The company expects the new facility to enable drug substance and drug product manufacturing for Kenya and the African continent. In addition, this facility will have surge capacity to rapidly scale and respond to public health emergencies on the continent and around the world.

“The finalization of our agreement with the Government of the Republic of Kenya is a key pillar of our global public health strategy, where we hope to bring mRNA innovation to the people of Africa in areas of high unmet need, such as acute respiratory infections, as well as persistent infectious diseases like HIV and outbreak threats such as Zika and Ebola,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna. “This also demonstrates our confidence in the investment climate in Kenya and the importance of utilizing mRNA technology to build resilience in healthcare security in Africa.”

“We are excited about this milestone that brings to bear our efforts as government to sustain our economic model of facilitating investments that serve not only Kenya but the African continent,” said President William Ruto. “My government commits to supporting this investment as a critical signal to the investment community that Kenya is open for business.”

Moderna also has commitments to establish mRNA manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Moderna has spent more than a decade refining its mRNA platform to accelerate the pace and success of mRNA medicines. The speed, scale, and flexibility of Moderna’s mRNA platform is uniquely suited for rapid response to serious international epidemics.