BRIEF—Moderna enters deal to supply COVID-19 vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 to Qatar

US biotech Moderna, which is pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines to create a new generation of transformative medicines for patients, today announced a supply agreement with the Ministry of Public Health of Qatar for mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine candidate against COVID-19, to support the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to secure early access to a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine for the people of Qatar.

The size and value of the contract have not been revealed, but in August Moderna said that smaller volume agreements for its investigational COVID-19 vaccine mRNA-1273 have been executed at between $32 and $37 per dose, or up to $74 for a full course.

Moderna has an agreement with European Commission (EC) to supply 80 million doses of mRNA-1273.

Moderna is scaling up global manufacturing to be able to deliver around 500 million doses per year and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, beginning in 2021.