Moderna, the American biotechnology firm known for manufacturing vaccines, has put a hold on its project to establish a vaccine production facility in Kenya valued at $200 million. This suspension comes in spite of the Kenyan government’s pledge to offer various inducements to facilitate the project, among which were tax exemptions.
On April 11, Moderna announced that it is currently in the process of evaluating the prospective need for Covid-19 vaccines as a basis for its future operations. The company’s reconsideration of its investment plan occurs amidst concerns related to the prolonged process of acquiring the necessary land for building the facility. The intended location for the plant was set to be a special economic zone situated on the periphery of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, which has become a subject of delay and uncertainty.
The cessation of Moderna’s plan represents a significant shift from earlier momentum, highlighting the complexities and challenges in expanding vaccine manufacturing capabilities in regions like Africa, where the demand for such infrastructure is critically high.
Moderna, the United States-based biotechnology company, has declared that it will not proceed with its plan to construct a $200 million mRNA vaccine production plant in Kenya. This announcement came after the firm acknowledged a notable decrease in vaccine orders from Africa since 2022, and it has experienced cancellations of orders amounting to over $1 billion due to the diminishing threat posed by the Covid-19 virus.
The company has stated that the lack of new vaccine orders from African countries has led to its decision to re-evaluate its investment plans on the continent. “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. This approach will allow Moderna to better align its infrastructure investments with the evolving healthcare needs and vaccine demand in Africa,” Moderna revealed in a formal communication on Thursday.
Although Moderna’s vaccines for Covid-19 have been central to its operations, the company has also been investing its research efforts into a variety of other vaccines leveraging mRNA technology. These include vaccines for cancer, shingles, and HIV, with a recent announcement indicating a significant advancement in a cancer vaccine.
The halting of the Kenyan plant’s development is a setback for President William Ruto’s administration. Ruto has actively been engaging with international corporations to bolster his vision of manufacturing growth within the country. The aborted facility, which was to be Moderna’s inaugural manufacturing operation on the African continent, was the cornerstone and most significant part of Kenya’s foreign direct investment in 2023, contributing to the total of $861 million received by the country.
The establishment of such a facility was anticipated to place Kenya on the map as a central hub of pharmaceuticals and vaccine production in the region, with the capacity to churn out an impressive 500 million vaccine doses each year. The manufacturing plant’s envisioned role was to serve as a critical healthcare infrastructure for Africa, boosting local vaccine availability and potentially transforming the healthcare landscape of the region.
