Takeda, Moderna, and the Government of Japan to Collaborate to Distribute 50 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses

Takeda and Moderna announced on Oct. 29, 2020 that they are entering into a three-way agreement with the Government of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to import and distribute 50 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, beginning in the first half of 2021.

Through the agreement, Takeda will handle securing the regulatory approvals before distributing the doses, while Moderna will supply the finished product, a Takeda press release said. Currently, a Phase III clinical trial for the vaccine candidate in the United States is fully enrolled.

This collaboration follows Takeda’s recent announcement that it is planning to manufacture Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate at its facilities in Japan to support the long-term supply of the treatment to the Japanese population.

“Takeda is collaborating with the Japanese Government and vaccine developers to provide rapid and sustained access to COVID-19 vaccines in Japan,” said Rajeev Venkayya, MD, president of the Global Vaccine Business Unit, Takeda, in the press release. “We have chosen to work with Novavax and Moderna, both of which have promising vaccine candidates, and will continue to support the global response to COVID-19 through R&D efforts across Takeda.”

Source: Takeda ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​