Contracted drug maker Catalent Inc. is expanding its US production of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, a development that could ensure that the U.S. has an ample supply as vaccinations increase.
Catalent has signed a deal with Moderna that will increase the speed of production of the vaccine at the contractor’s factory in Bloomington, Indiana, this month to around 400 vials per minute, according to people familiar with the matter.
Catalent will move manufacturing from the injection of two slower to a faster production line. New doses will be ready for shipment starting next month, people said, and the updated plant could fill an additional 80 million bottles a year.
The expansion will help Moderna achieve its goal of providing the United States with 100 million additional doses by the end of May and another 100 million doses by the end of July.
Production in the United States of several authorized vaccines has accelerated in recent weeks, as manufacturers have expanded production lines and taken other steps to increase production.