Moderna Waives its COVID Patents Permanently – But Won’t Share Tech with South African mRNA Hub
Drug & Diagnostics Development 08/03/2022 •

Moderna has committed to permanently waiving its COVID-19 patents in 92 low- and middle-income countries, and is pursuing vaccines for 15 diseases identified as the world’s biggest public health risk, including ebola, tuberculosis and malaria.

The company has also offered outside researchers access to its mRNA technology to pursue research on emerging and neglected infectious diseases, it announced on Monday evening.

However, Moderna will not share its COVID-19 vaccine technology with the mRNA hub that the World Health Organization (WHO) has established in South Africa that has already made a copy of Moderna’s vaccine.

This prompted French virologist Marie-Paule Kieny, who chairs the hub and the Medicines Patent Pool, to appeal for “more” from the company.

Instead, it is setting up a $500-million vaccine manufacturing facility in Kenya, and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with that government.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said that it was “not a good use of our time” to work with the mRNA hub.

The company aims to have clinical trials for some of the 15 priority pathogens by 2025. Moderna is expanding its patent pledge to never enforce COVID-19 patents in the 92 low and middle-income countries identified for support by COVAX.

Earlier, it had pledged not to enforce patents during the emergency phase of the pandemic, which is why the South African mRNA hub opted to make its vaccine.

Image Credits: Gavi .

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