The Moderna biotechnology company inaugurated this Thursday in Madrid its International Center of Analytical Excellence in Europe, which will allow tests to certify batches of mRNA vaccines for distribution in Spain and up to 60 countries outside the United States.
With this new center, Spain has become Moderna’s largest production focus outside the United States. In addition, Spain is the only European country in which the company covers the complete production and manufacturing process of mRNA vaccines: in Granada the active principle is manufactured, in Madrid the filling of the vaccines is carried out and in this new center it is checked. its quality. Moderna’s key partner in Spain is Rovi, which has been in charge, for example, of producing the vaccine against Covid-19.
Moderna has invested 22 million euros to start up this center in Madrid. In addition to the laboratory area, these new facilities will be the company’s headquarters in Spain, with large office spaces, reception and common areas.
The company, as the general director of Moderna for Spain and Portugal, Juan Carlos Gil, has advanced, plans to create in 2023 in Spain “around 80 jobs: 25 in the laboratory and 55 in the offices, which may expand in the coming years.
“Moderna’s commitment to Spain is firm. We reaffirm that the country’s potential is unquestionable and, for this reason, we have chosen Madrid to build our facilities equipped with the latest technologies that, without a doubt, will contribute to positioning Spain at the forefront of the innovation and global mRNA medicine”, Gil assured at the event.
Along the same lines, the senior vice president and general manager of Moderna for Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Canada, Chantal Friebertshaeuser, has defended that Spain “is a strategic place for Moderna, as evidenced by the collaboration and investment agreement in manufacturing “. “We are pleased to increase our presence in Spain with this cutting-edge investment”, she added in this regard.
For Friebertshaeuser, this center is “a key scientific investment”, since the company now has “comprehensive manufacturing capabilities in Europe”. “This is crucial as we expand our manufacturing network to meet the demands of our exciting portfolio of mRNA products,” he has riveted her.
For her part, the United States ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, stressed that this center represents “a new step forward for this innovative company that continues to play an essential role in overcoming the pandemic and that saved the lives of millions of people”.
The Minister of Health, José Miñones, has celebrated the inauguration of these “leading facilities” of Moderna, which make Spain, in his opinion, a “reference health research hub”. “We are the only country in Europe that is capable of producing and manufacturing mRNA products, as well as distributing them to other regions of Spain and up to 60 countries,” he argued.
In addition, he has claimed that this mRNA technology “opens up a world of possibilities in areas such as cancer or rare diseases”, in addition to the fight against Covid-19, in which Moderna “has contributed through its vaccines”.
The general director of Moderna for Europe has detailed that this center in Madrid will be involved, in addition to the Covid-19 vaccine, in others that the company is already investigating and plans to be able to market “in the coming months and years”, such as the influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Moderna also has research underway in other diseases, such as melanoma, the most relevant in recent times. According to the results of a phase 2 clinical trial, the vaccine, in combination with MSD’s immunotherapy ‘Keytruda’, reduces the recurrence of melanoma by 44%. This year the company will launch the phase 3 trial, the last one before its commercialization.
In statements to the media, Moderna’s Vice President of Medical Affairs for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, César Sanz RodrÃguez, stressed that mRNA “opens up the possibility of personalizing cancer treatment.”
In particular regarding the vaccine against melanoma, the representative of Moderna has not set deadlines, but has assured that the company’s commitment is to have it ready “as soon as possible.” It is difficult to venture to give dates. It is important to be prudent, but we expect the program to move quickly. Our commitment is, as with the vaccine against Covid-19, to work as quickly as possible so that it benefits as many patients as possible,” he specified.
The mRNA platform could also be adapted, according to Sanz RodrÃguez, to other tumors such as small cell lung cancer. Moderna has more than 40 vaccine development programs underway, against HIV, infectious diseases such as the Epstein-Barr virus, regenerative medicine or rare diseases, in which “there will be many advances.” “The possibilities are multiple”, he has riveted.
Moderna’s new laboratory has an area of ​​1,625 square meters, with two areas. In the first place, the validation of analytical methods, equipped with “state-of-the-art and standardized” technology, which will carry out activities such as the validation and transfer of analytical methods, the testing of research samples, technical support for the resolution of analytical problems, and support to the training of laboratory personnel.
On the other hand, the Quality Control unit will focus on carrying out the analyzes of the mRNA products to ensure that they have the appropriate quality before being distributed to the market.
This group has the capacity to make the complete analytical panel, carrying out the tests of imported products, as well as products manufactured by external laboratories of the European Union. This area will also provide support in release testing during transfer phases, and execution of new programs, launches, and configurations of new products.
The Moderna center in Madrid, which is located in the OM Infinito building in Madrid, the largest business complex in the capital, also has a ‘Lighthouse’ room for the introduction of new technologies and digital tools, as well as a training room in which incorporation programs and continuous training for laboratory personnel will be taught.
