On Aug. 28, 2020, Moderna confirmed that the Company was engaged in discussions with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) to potentially purchase 40 million or more doses of mRNA-1273, Moderna’s vaccine candidate against COVID-19, to support Japan’s aim of providing vaccines to the public as soon as possible. Under the terms of this arrangement, the vaccine would be supplied by Moderna and distributed in Japan by Takeda Pharmaceutical beginning in the first half of 2021, if the vaccine receives regulatory approval.

Over the past nine years, Moderna has invested in creating and developing a novel platform for designing and manufacturing a new class of mRNA-based vaccines. The investments in this proprietary platform have enabled Moderna to expeditiously create, manufacture and clinically develop mRNA-1273 to potentially address the current COVID-19 pandemic. A summary of the company’s work to date on COVID-19 can be found here.

Moderna is advancing messenger RNA (mRNA) science to create a new class of transformative medicines for patients. mRNA medicines are designed to direct the body’s cells to produce intracellular, membrane or secreted proteins that can have a therapeutic or preventive benefit and have the potential to address a broad spectrum of diseases. Moderna’s platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, providing the Company the capability to pursue in parallel a robust pipeline of new development candidates. Moderna is developing therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, independently and with strategic collaborators.