Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea (MFDS) Authorizes Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine

South Korea has secured 40 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--()--Moderna, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRNA), a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, today announced that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea (MFDS) has approved the Company’s application for Conditional Marketing Authorization for its mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. GC Pharma in South Korea is the Company’s marketing authorization holder and distributor of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for the South Korea.

As the Company continues to scale its commercial network, Moderna announced earlier this year that it plans to open a commercial subsidiary in South Korea in 2021.

“We would like to thank the MFDS and the government of South Korea for collaborating with us to achieve this important milestone. We are committed to protecting people around the world with our COVID-19 vaccine and if authorized, with our variant booster candidates,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “We look forward to continuing discussions with South Korea about establishing potential local manufacturing opportunities.”

The approval is based on the totality of scientific evidence shared by the Company, including a data analysis from the pivotal Phase 3 clinical study announced on November 30, 2020. South Korea has secured access to 40 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna.

In addition to South Korea, Moderna has also received emergency (or other conditional, interim or provisional) authorization for use of its COVID-19 vaccine from health agencies in the U.S., Canada, Israel, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Singapore, Qatar, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Paraguay, Japan and an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Authorized Use

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is authorized pursuant to a Conditional Marketing Authorization in South Korea for use in adults aged 18 years and older.

About Moderna

In 10 years since its inception, Moderna has transformed from a science research-stage company advancing programs in the field of messenger RNA (mRNA), to an enterprise with a diverse clinical portfolio of vaccines and therapeutics across six modalities, a broad intellectual property portfolio in areas including mRNA and lipid nanoparticle formulation, and an integrated manufacturing plant that allows for both clinical and commercial production at scale and at unprecedented speed. Moderna maintains alliances with a broad range of domestic and overseas government and commercial collaborators, which has allowed for the pursuit of both groundbreaking science and rapid scaling of manufacturing. Most recently, Moderna’s capabilities have come together to allow the authorized use of one of the earliest and most-effective vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderna’s mRNA platform builds on continuous advances in basic and applied mRNA science, delivery technology and manufacturing, and has allowed the development of therapeutics and vaccines for infectious diseases, immuno-oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular diseases and auto-immune diseases. Today, 24 development programs are underway across these therapeutic areas, with 14 programs having entered the clinic. Moderna has been named a top biopharmaceutical employer by Science for the past six years. To learn more, visit www.modernatx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding the approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA-1273) by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea; the distribution of the Company’s COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea; the establishment of a commercial subsidiary in South Korea by the Company; and the potential establishment of manufacturing capabilities for the Company’s products in South Korea. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. The forward-looking statements in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond Moderna’s control and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include, among others: the fact that there has never been a commercial product utilizing mRNA technology approved for use; the fact that the rapid response technology in use by Moderna is still being developed and implemented; the safety, tolerability and efficacy profile of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine observed to date may change adversely in ongoing analyses of trial data or subsequent to commercialization; the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may prove less effective against variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or the Company may be unsuccessful in developing future versions of its vaccine against these variants; despite having ongoing interactions with the FDA or other regulatory agencies, the FDA or such other regulatory agencies may not agree with the Company’s regulatory approval strategies, components of our filings, such as clinical trial designs, conduct and methodologies, or the sufficiency of data submitted; Moderna may encounter delays in meeting manufacturing or supply timelines or disruptions in its distribution plans for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; whether and when any biologics license applications and/or additional emergency use authorization applications may be filed in various jurisdictions and ultimately approved by regulatory authorities; potential adverse impacts due to the global COVID-19 pandemic such as delays in regulatory review, manufacturing and clinical trials, supply chain interruptions, adverse effects on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy; and those other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in Moderna’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in subsequent filings made by Moderna with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, Moderna disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on Moderna’s current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.

Contacts

Media:
Colleen Hussey
Director, Corporate Communications
617-335-1374
Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com

Investors:
Lavina Talukdar
Head of Investor Relations
617-209-5834
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com

Release Summary

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea (MFDS) authorizes Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Contacts

Media:
Colleen Hussey
Director, Corporate Communications
617-335-1374
Colleen.Hussey@modernatx.com

Investors:
Lavina Talukdar
Head of Investor Relations
617-209-5834
Lavina.Talukdar@modernatx.com