Moderna, Mexico sign mRNA vaccine pact

The Mexican government has signed a five-year agreement with Moderna that aims to strengthen the country’s access to vaccines against respiratory diseases and expand local production capacity. Under the long-term deal, Moderna will supply Mexico with its portfolio of respiratory vaccines and transfer its Covid‑19 vaccine technology to domestic pharmaceutical company Liomont.

The technology transfer will enable privately owned Liomont to produce mRNA‑1273, Moderna’s vaccine approved for preventing Covid‑19. Mexico had previously ordered up to 10 million doses of Moderna’s 2025‑2026 Covid‑19 vaccine, an updated version of mRNA‑1273 also known as Spikevax.

Moderna and the Mexican government will cooperate beyond product supply, working together on national health priorities and efforts to improve pandemic preparedness in Mexico and the wider region.

Liomont employs more than 1,500 people and operates what it describes as some of the most modern pharmaceutical facilities in Mexico. In 2019, the company opened a new plant in Estado de Mexico dedicated in part to vaccine production. According to Liomont, it became the first plant in Latin America with a liquid and vial filling line incorporating isolator technology, with a total site size of over 1.6 million square meters.

The alliance with Moderna forms part of the Mexican government’s "Plan Mexico", an economic growth initiative designed to increase investment and build local production capacity. Under this framework, the mRNA partnership is intended to support national health security while contributing to broader industrial development goals.

Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company is "proud to support Mexico in its mission to strengthen national health security" and highlighted that the collaboration will provide access to respiratory vaccines and "critical pandemic response capacity." He also linked the deal to Moderna’s aim of driving sales growth through geographic diversification.

The Moderna agreement adds to a series of recent pharmaceutical investments in Mexico. In August 2025, Bayer announced plans to invest 3 billion pesos (approximately $174.13 million) over five years to modernise and expand production at its established Mexican sites. Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca have also pledged millions of US dollars to upgrade their respective plants in the country.

AstraZeneca has said it sees Mexico as a potential "global hub for innovation and technology." The cluster of commitments by multinational drugmakers underlines Mexico’s strategy of positioning itself as a regional centre for advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and innovation.

News of the Mexico‑focused partnership came shortly after a setback for Moderna’s mRNA portfolio in the United States. On 10 February, the US Food and Drug Administration refused to review Moderna’s new mRNA flu vaccine, which the article described as a significant disconnect between the US regulator and parts of the pharmaceutical industry on the mRNA modality.

The FDA’s decision triggered a sharp market reaction: Moderna’s share price fell 10.5%, from $41.99 at the close on 10 February to $37.60 at the next market open, leaving the company with a market capitalisation of $14.7 billion. Against this backdrop, the Mexico deal highlights Moderna’s efforts to expand internationally while regulatory and commercial conditions in its home market remain volatile.