Lonza : says production for Moderna at two new Swiss lines to start 'soon'

ZURICH (Reuters) - Lonza will "soon" start production at two more Swiss manufacturing lines for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, CEO Pierre-Alain Ruffieux said, after the first line began production and is due to deliver a first batch this month.

"We expect that within a couple of months, we will reach cruising speed," Ruffieux told reporters on a conference call on Wednesday, without giving a firm timeline for when all three new production lines supplying Moderna will be at their full capacity and making ingredients for roughly 300 million vaccine doses annually.

(Reporting by John Miller; editing by Jason Neely)