Moderna, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant based in United States has announced halting of its plan to build a Sh.65 billion messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) manufacturing plant in Kenya. The company is taking a step back to evaluate future demand for mRNA vaccines in Africa as it has not received any vaccine orders from the continent since 2022.
According to a statement by company on Thursday, demand for COVID19 vaccines in the continent has declined since the pandemic, and it is unsatisfactory to support the viability of the $500 million factory it planned to build in the country.
The company pointed out losses upto $1 billion (sh.130 billion) from cancellation of orders and write-downs. “Moderna has not received any vaccine orders for Africa since 2022 and has faced the cancellation of previous orders, resulting in more than $1 billion in losses and write-downs.” Reads the statement.
This move is in line with the company’s strategy of resizing its manufacturing network to cut costs, even at it aims to spend around $4.5 billion this year in research and development of several new vaccines, including for cancer and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). “Given this, and in alignment with our strategic planning, Moderna believes it is prudent to pause its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya,” The Spikevax maker said.
Despite it being the company’s strategic plan, this move comes after questions over delays in acquiring land for the project in a special economic zone (EPZ) on the outskirts of Nairobi, the country’s capital.
A report by The Financial Times on Thursday, said Moderna is yet to buy a plot reserved for it in a special economic zone at Tatu City in Kiambu County following the suspension of its plans.
The facility was claimed to be Moderna’s first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa and was expected to have to produce up to 500 million vaccine doses annually. The new facility was expected to enable manufacturing of drug products for Kenya and Africa and scale up its production and respond to public health emergencies on the continent and worldwide.
The Moderna’s decision is a huge blow to the country which has been working relentlessly to attract foreign investors since President William Ruto came to power.
