Japan Buys 50 Million Additional COVID-19 Vaccines

Massachusetts - based Moderna, Inc. announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited have agreed to purchase and distribute an additional 50 million doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine (TAK-919) and its updated variant booster vaccine candidate, if authorized, to begin delivery in 2022.

This new supply agreement is in addition to the prior agreement for 50 million doses in 2021, resulting in a total of 100 million doses for Japan.

Moderna is responsible for the manufacture and supply of Moderna’s vaccine candidate, and Takeda, with the support of the MHLW and Moderna, is responsible for all import, local regulatory, development, and distribution activities in Japan for these additional 50 million doses beginning in 2022.

“We thank the MHLW and Takeda for their support and for partnering with us to bring our mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to Japan,” said Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, in a press release.

“We remain committed to making our vaccine available around the world as we seek to address the pandemic.”

On May 21, 2021, the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna Intramuscular Injection (TAK-919) was authorized in Japan.