Benzinga | Jun 2, 2021 06:51AM EDT

Moderna Taps Thermo Fisher to Help Scale Up COVID-19 Vaccine Production

* Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) entered into an agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (NYSE:TMO) for manufacturing and packaging its COVID-19 vaccine, as Moderna looks to scale up production.

* Thermo Fisher Scientific will provide fill-finish, labeling, and packaging services for Moderna's mRNA vaccine at Thermo Fisher's commercial manufacturing site in Greenville, North Carolina.

* Moderna said the latest agreement would "support the production of hundreds of millions of doses," and production is set to begin in the third quarter this year.

* Moderna already has a standing relationship with Thermo Fisher, which has supplied the biotech with raw materials for its COVID-19 vaccine, said Juan Andres, Moderna's chief technical operations and quality officer.

* Last week, Moderna tapped South Korea's Samsung Biologics to leverage a finishing, labeling, and packaging line to crank out vaccine doses for countries other than the U.S.

* Yesterday, Moderna said it's seeking full FDA approval of its COVID-19 vaccine, currently under an emergency use authorization.

* Thermo Fisher also agreed to help Humanigen Inc (NASDAQ:HGEN) scale up manufacturing of lenzilumab, a monoclonal antibody for cytokine storm in severe COVID-19 patients.

* Humanigen said last week that it asked the FDA to grant lenzilumab emergency authorization.

* Price Action: MRNA and TMO shares closed at $184.6 and $447.01, respectively, on Tuesday.