Summary
- The pharma company has proposed increasing of filling vials by up to five additional doses.
- The US FDA had initially purchased 200 million doses of Moderna vaccine, following which it ordered additional 100 million jabs.
With the manufacturing capacity reaching almost a million doses per day, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) has proposed filling vials with five additional doses alongside extra doses of the Covid-19 antibody to mitigate the manufacturing shortages. In an email, the American pharma stated that it is proposing to increase the filling vials from the existing 10 to 15 doses.
On 27 January, the company had confirmed that it was in talks with the US government to purchase 100 million extras doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine for delivery in the Q3 2021.
(Image source: ©Kalkine Group 2020)
Earlier, the US government signed an agreement with Moderna Inc to purchase 200 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. If the US government confirms this new purchase, the total order will go up to 300 million doses.
Alluding to the Food and Drug Administration of the US, the company said that further discussions are required to assure that the regulatory authority was comfortable with Moderna’s new agenda before it was executed. In a statement, Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna, said that additional doses would surely prove to be helpful in addressing the capacity constraints.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention had administered 32,222,402 doses of coronavirus antibodies and distributed 49,936,450 doses as of 1 February. In December 2020, the FDA had permitted Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization in the US for individuals aged 18 years or above. It was the second vaccine to receive approval in the US.
This recommendation of FDA was based on the totality of scientific evidence shared by the company. The report included a data analysis from the initial Phase 3 clinical study which was tested on 196 cases, and the company had announced that the primary efficacy analysis of the vaccine indicated the 94 per cent efficacy rate.
Also Read: Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine impresses, demonstrates 94.5% efficacy
Moderna has also been approved for usage in the UK, Canada, European Union, Israel, and Switzerland, by their respective regulatory authorities.