Takeda to supply Japan with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine

As part of a three-way commitment between Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Moderna and the Government of Japan’s Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW), Takeda will import and distribute 50 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, starting in the first half of 2021. The distribution depends on the vaccine being licensed in Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement Takeda will be responsible for securing the necessary regulatory approvals prior to distributing the doses of mRNA-1273 and Moderna will provide the finished product and support Takeda’s development and regulatory efforts.

This new agreement follows an earlier one made by Takeda in August 2020 with Novavax, where the former announced it was establishing the capability to manufacture Novavax’s COVID‑19 vaccine candidate at its facilities in Japan. The company’s efforts to bring both COVID-19 vaccine candidates to Japan are supported by the MHLW and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

“Takeda is collaborating with the Japanese Government and vaccine developers to provide rapid and sustained access to COVID-19 vaccines in Japan,” said Dr Rajeev Venkayya, President of the Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda. “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.”