Moderna to set up subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong and SE Asia to dispense mRNA vaccines
Moderna Inc., the US biotech company and maker of the popular mRNA covid vaccine, announced on Tuesday its plan to set up four subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan to support the delivery of its vaccines across East and Southeast Asia.
The Taiwan-based subsidiary is expected to be established by year’s end, and would bolster the existing medical community through recruitment of local talent and partnerships with hospitals.
In a statement, Modern said its contract with Taiwan would see 200 million of its Covid-19 doses delivered this year, with another 15 million does arriving in 2023.
In Taiwan, 75 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated for Covid-19, one of the highest rates worldwide, just behind Vietnam, France and Italy.
Taiwanese citizens 18 years of age and above are able to receive Moderna’s two-dose Covid-19 vaccine, as well as a booster shot five months after the second dose.
Modern is also developing a next-generation vaccine which it hopes to launch in the second half of the year pending regulatory approval, to target newer strains of the virus and help end the pandemic.
SOURCE: Taipei Times
