South Korea and COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna Inc are in discussions over a US$200 million investment by the US drugmaker to build a vaccine manufacturing factory in the country, a former government minister who was involved in the talks said.
Former South Korean Minister of SMEs and Start-ups Park Young-sun, who stepped down last month to run for Seoul mayor, made the comments in an interview with the Asia Business Daily.
She also said that Moderna was highly interested in the Asian market, according to the report.
Photo: AP
Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Moderna has expressed its interest to invest US$200 million ... and I’ll continue to participate in the discussion for a while, as I had held talks with them as a minister,” Park was quoted as saying.
An official in Park’s campaign said that the factory is likely to be built in Seoul.
It has yet to be decided when and by how much the plant could produce vaccines, the official said.
The discussion comes as Moderna has raised its production target for this year to at least 600 million doses, and continues to invest and add staff to deliver up to 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year.
With few of its own factories, US-based Moderna is reliant on partners such as Swiss contract drug manufacturer Lonza and Laboratorios Farmaceuticos ROVI in Spain.
In December last year, it signed a contract with Sweden’s Recipharm for production at a site in France to boost capacity for deliveries outside the US.
Moderna and other vaccine makers have delayed shipments to several countries in recent weeks, as they adjust short-term production schedules to increase output.
Park had her last video conference with Moderna on the day that she left the office and the two sides were scheduled to hold a meeting next week, she said.
The report follows a deal announced by South Korea in December to purchase 40 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine after South Korean President Moon Jae-in held an online meeting with the US firm’s CEO Stephane Bancel.
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