1. UGANDA

Merck donates 50,000 doses of its investigational Sudan Ebola virus vaccine candidate to the nonprofit IAVI to fight an outbreak of Ebola in Uganda. According to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 90 confirmed cases of Ebola in Uganda since the start of the outbreak in September, and at least 44 deaths.

2. AUSTRALIA

Coronavirus vaccine developer BioNTech will partner with the state of Victoria to build a research and innovation center to develop mRNA therapies and vaccines and an mRNA product manufacturing facility with its BioNTainer modular shipping container units. The Germany-based company will also expand its clinical trial presence in Australia, adding new clinical sites and increasing patient enrollment into its trials.

3. SINGAPORE

Merck launches two local packaging and manufacturing sites, bolstering Singapore’s position as the company’s Asia–Pacific regional headquarters. A facility that will package drugs including Keytruda and Gardasil and a plant to manufacture a next-generation inhaler are part of a $500-million investment to increase vaccine and drug production in Singapore.

4. CHINA

China will approve BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for foreign residents, making it the first mRNA coronavirus vaccine to get the go-ahead in mainland China. Although BioNTech has collaborated with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical since 2020 to manufacture its mRNA vaccine, those shots have only been available in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.