Moderna is eyeing to bring into the Philippines more of its vaccines not just for the new coronavirus disease 2019 but other respiratory vaccines as well as those that fight rare diseases like birth defects and cancer.
But Patrick Bergstedt, the company’s senior vice president and general manager, said in a press briefing talks of setting up a vaccine manufacturing facility are premature.
“We have to crawl before we can sprint,” Bergstedt said.
Åukasz Wielochowski, head of Moderna Enterprise Solution Hub in Poland, in the same briefing said the company is eyeing either the Bonifacio Global City or Makati as site of the enterprise solutions facility in the Philippines which will provide services on finance, pharmacovigilance, medical procurement, regulatory and human resources for the firm’s Asia-Pacific operations.
Bergstedt said the first phase of this project would initially employ up to 50 workers and will start operations by September.
Bergstedt also bared plans for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines for which the company is currently in the regulatory process to get approval for its bi-valent COVID vaccine. The company supplied COVID-19 vaccines in the country under an emergency use authorization.
Bergstedt said Moderna also hopes to get regulatory approval from the Philippines for its vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, which is currently in phase three of development,
The third vaccine, he said, is potentially a combination vaccine where one vaccine provides broad protection across a number of respiratory diseases.
Bergsted said Moderna has 48 different clinical development programs at various stages.
“mRNA, an informational molecule that helps the body by giving it a targeted message to develop proteins to fight or prevent diseases. It extends beyond respiratory diseases into latent viruses for example, cytomegalovirus which is the cause of many birth defects, and we have a very promising vaccine that’s very advanced in phase three. We are studying mRNA in rare diseases. And then recently, you also probably saw the very promising role that mRNA has in oncology. We hope to bring as many of those medicines and vaccines to the Philippines over time,” he said.
Moderna’s commercial office will be focused on its commercial activities with the government through vaccination programs.
“Once we get the full marketing authorization, we will also be able to support the private sector,” Bergsted said.
Currently, Moderna has a partnership with Zuellig for distribution and logistics. Irma Isip
