US biotechnology company Moderna Inc, one of the two leading makers of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, on Tuesday announced that it would establish four subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore to support delivery of its vaccines and therapeutics.
The subsidiary in Taiwan is expected to be set up by the end of this year, Moderna told Chinese-language media, adding that it would recruit local talent and collaborate with local hospitals on clinical trials.
Moderna has signed a contract with Taiwan to offer 20 million COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses this year, and another 15 million next year, the company said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
In Taiwan, its COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for people aged 18 or older, while its booster shots can be given to those who had their second dose five months prior, it said.
Moderna provides Taiwan with its mRNA-1273 vaccine, which targets variants of SARS-CoV-2, and it is developing a next-generation vaccine that it expects to launch in the second half of this year, pending regulatory approval, Moderna senior vice president Patrick Bergstedt said in an interview with the Chinese-language United Daily News.
“This is why we set up a subsidiary in Taiwan — we hope to cooperate with local hospitals and regulators directly so that we could provide our vaccine,” United Daily News quoted Bergstedt as saying.
More studies are required to determine whether booster shots should be given once every six months or once a year, he said.
Moderna did not say whether it would consider manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine in Taiwan, but the Central News Agency (CNA) yesterday reported that the government is attempting to arrange a technology transfer for the vaccine.
To facilitate a transfer, the government plans to set up a new company in which the National Development Fund would hold a stake of less than 49 percent and the remaining shares would belong to private companies, CNA reported.
South Korea’s Samsung Biologics Co has since May last year been assigned the fill and finish manufacturing task for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, corporate data showed.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) last year told lawmakers that the US is protective of its mRNA technology, so there would be a higher chance of Taiwan participating in the back-end manufacturing processes, such as fill and finish — the process of filling vials with vaccine and finishing the process of packaging the medicine — than in core manufacturing.
However, Taiwan would strive to transfer the technology, he said.
Asked whether Moderna’s decision to set up a branch in Taiwan could lead to the company’s vaccines being produced in Taiwan or other types of cooperation, Chen yesterday said that the ministry does not know the company’s development plans, but welcomes it to Taiwan and would not exclude the possibility of further cooperation.
Moderna said that the addition of the four subsidiaries comes as it continues to scale up the manufacturing and distribution of its COVID-19 vaccine, and future mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.
The Asia-Pacific region represents an integral part of Moderna’s business, with established subsidiaries in Australia, South Korea and Japan, it said.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
PEACE AND STABILITY: ‘Taiwan can be of tremendous value’ in building resilient supply chains, President Tsai Ing-wen said, as she encouraged closer ties with foreign businesses A Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely for the time being due to the internal challenges and international pressure that China is facing, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the New York Times in an interview shown on Wednesday. “My thought is that perhaps this is not a time for them [China] to consider a major invasion of Taiwan,” Tsai said in a prerecorded interview for the DealBook Summit held by the newspaper on Wednesday. Beijing’s leadership is presently “overwhelmed by its internal challenges” on economic, financial and political grounds, while the international community “has made it loud and clear that war is
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
RSS