Moderna, Novavax to make vaccines in Korea

Moderna Inc and Novavax Inc entered into a deal with the South Korean government to manufacture their coronavirus vaccines, as the country has been under pressure to secure more and faster deliveries of U.S.-made vaccines, Reuters reports.

Saturday's agreements with the U.S. drugmakers came a day after U.S. President Joe Biden said that he and South Korean President Moon Jae In had agreed on a comprehensive partnership on  vaccines and that the United States would provide vaccinations for 550,000 South Korean soldiers.

Moon, under pressure over the pandemic, said a vaccine partnership would combine U.S. expertise and Korean production capacity.

Moderna, whose shot was granted approval in South Korea on Friday, said on Saturday its vaccine will be manufactured by Samsung Biologics Co and that it intends to supply these vaccines to markets outside the United States starting in the third quarter.

South Korea has emerged as a global vaccine production base with its fourth  vaccine contract manufacturing deal, Vice Health Minister Kang Do Tae told a briefing on Sunday.

"The establishment of the South Korea-U.S. vaccine partnership is to build the basis for mass production of vaccines domestically by combining the advanced technology of the U.S. with production capabilities of South Korea," said Kang.