The Deerfield-based health care company Baxter International has reached an agreement with Moderna to assist with the manufacturing of approximately 60 to 90 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, Baxter announced Monday.
Baxter's BioPharma Solutions, a unit of the company, will provide fill/finish sterile manufacturing services and supply packaging, according to a news release.
The processes will take place at the BioPharma Solutions fill/finish sterile manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Indiana, which specializes in parental drug delivery systems as well as clinical and commercial vaccine manufacturing.
“We have seen a remarkable demonstration of scientific and health care expertise in the effort to develop vaccines for COVID-19,” Marie Keeley, vice president, Baxter BioPharma Solutions, said in the news release. “Baxter is honored to provide our deep expertise in vaccine manufacturing to help partners like Moderna bolster the supply of their vaccine.”
The Moderna vaccine is one of the three options that have been authorized by the United States to combat COVID-19, along with the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines differ from traditional vaccines in their use of mRNA. Instead of introducing a weakened or an inactivated germ into your body, this vaccine injects mRNA, the genetic material that our cells read to make proteins, into your upper arm muscle. It teaches your body how to make the protein that triggers antibody production so if the real virus later enters your body, your immune system will recognize it, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
