Moderna, Catalent to collaborate on high-speed vial filling line for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine

Moderna, Inc. is joining forces with Catalent, Inc. to create a high-speed vial filling line in Indiana that will aid the manufacture of its COVID-19 vaccine and, potentially, other items in Moderna’s clinical portfolio.

While Catalent — a provider of advanced delivery technologies, development and manufacturing solutions for medical products — and Moderna have been working together since June 2020, their initial goal of supporting 100 million initial doses of Moderna’s vaccine was achieved in March, and this new deal was arranged. As a result, Catalent will dedicate the use of a high-speed filling line at its Bloomington, Indiana biologic facility to Moderna through June 2023.

“We appreciate this expanded collaboration with Catalent and the dedication of their team,” Juan Andres, Moderna’s CTO and Quality Officer, said. “This additional fill-finish capacity will be important for not only our COVID-19 vaccine but also potentially for other programs in our clinical development pipeline.”

The fill line was rapidly built over approximately 10 months, with operation expected to begin this month. By fully dedicating the new line to Moderna, other capacities at the facility will open up to other endeavors. Even as Moderna utilizes the fill line for its purposes, Catalent will provide inspection, labeling, cartoning, and final packaging for its programs.

“Catalent’s partnership with Moderna began in 2016 when we had only glimpsed the potential applications of mRNA and could not have guessed how pivotal mRNA would become in the fight against COVID-19,” Alessandro Maselli, Catalent’s president and COO, said. “We are proud to announce this extension of our companies’ strategic collaboration, and we look forward to further demonstrating our commercial manufacturing expertise as we help supply more vaccine doses.”