The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved a new manufacturing plant in central France to boost production of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, the regulator’s committee for human medicines has said.
The new site will be in Monts near the Loire Valley town of Tours and will be operated by pharmaceutical manufacturer Recipharm, the EMA said in a statement on Friday.
The Sweden-headquartered firm already has a facility in Monts for the filling of pharmaceutical products into vials.
As well as a new manufacturing facility for the Moderna jab, the EMA said it has issued a “positive opinion” for alternative batch control and testing sites.
Last week the regulator approved two new US sites for manufacturing the active substance and finished product of the US-developed Moderna jab.
The EMA said it expects the approvals of the three sites to result in an extra 1 or 2 million vials of vaccine becoming available for the EU each month.
In February the EU’s European Commission announced it had signed a deal with Moderna for an additional 150 million doses of its vaccine this year with the option to purchase another 150 million in 2022.
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