Moderna eyes beefed-up vaccine production with the help of U.S.-brokered manufacturing talks: report

The feds already had a hand in Merck and Johnson & Johnson's 'wartime' COVID-19 production pact. Now, Moderna is reportedly in government-brokered talks with a potential manufacturing partner. Moderna on Tuesday met with specialty drugmaker Nexus Pharmaceuticals to discuss manufacturing of its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine at the company's new factory in Wisconsin, Reuters reports, citing sources close to the matter. Nexus hasn't produced COVID-19 shots so far, but its plant has the capacity to process and fill some 30 million doses a month, the sources told the news service. The meeting was set up by senior White House officials, including David Kessler, the former FDA chief who now heads up the nation's pandemic response, and Tim Manning, the country's COVID-19 supply coordinator, the news outlet wrote. They've also brokered talks between Nexus and Johnson & Johnson, the sources said.