Moderna has signed a contract with CordenPharma to supply the increased volume of lipids used in the production of the experimental vaccine from COVID-19, to increase capacity to produce enough doses to meet expected global demand.

Neither a vaccine nor a cure for COVID-19 exists, and experts believe that before a safe and effective vaccine appears, it will take from one to one and a half years from the start of development, Voice of America reported.

World leaders believe that the vaccine is the only real way to restart the economy after months of downtime due to restrictive measures aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus. However, there are fears that some countries, including the US, may try to accumulate vaccine stocks since it is unlikely that they will be able to satisfy demand around the world at the initial stage of production.

Moderna said last week that its potential vaccine - the first to be tested in the US - has developed protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers, which gives hope for its effectiveness.

This contract will increase the supply of lipids used to manufacture our products with mRNA, said Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer, Juan Andres.

If the vaccine is successful, Moderna plans to deliver millions of doses per month in 2020 and tens of millions in 2021.

The company signed a 10-year deal with the Swiss manufacturer Lonza to speed up the vaccine production process and reach a billion doses per year.

Moderna shares rose by 2 percent on Thursday.