Moderna Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company focusing on messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Norwood, Massachusetts for clinical development of mRNA therapeutics.

The 200,000-square-foot clinical development manufacturing plant was built to advance Moderna’s pipeline of mRNA-based medicines. Designed to cGMP specifications, the site gives the company the capacity to develop materials for preclinical toxicology studies as well as Phase I and Phase II clinical development programs, and to manufacture, test, and run fill/finish operations for its portfolio of mRNA development candidates.

Moderna currently has 21 programs in its mRNA pipeline, including potential treatments for different forms of cancer, rare diseases, infectious diseases, and heart failure.

The new site also houses the company’s Personalized Cancer Vaccine (PCV) Unit for individualized supply batches of mRNA for potential personalized cancer vaccines. Using PCV manufacturing, the company says it can reduce the time it takes to manufacture a cancer vaccine for individual patients in clinical trials.

Source: Moderna Therapeutics