Author: AlphaSense Staff

This week, BlackRock CEO and Founder Larry Fink released his 2021 Letter to CEOs, accompanied by BlackRock’s 2021 Client Letter. Echoing sentiments from 2020, this year’s letter is an urgent message to address climate change, social justice, and data disclosure. 

Fink’s call for corporate executives to radically shift their thinking around ESG carries significant impact, as climate transition “presents a historic investment opportunity.” He warns that if companies do not begin taking deliberate steps to address climate change and social injustice, they will see their businesses and valuations suffer.

Below, we have compiled a list of pull quotes from the letter, accompanied by AlphaSense searches that can help track trends around ESG, climate commitments, carbon neutrality, and more. 

If you are an AlphaSense user, you can easily save these searches, set up alerts to track each topic, and access thousands of ESG reports from the world’s leading companies.

 Not an AlphaSense user? Sign up for a free two-week trial. 

 

ESG remains essential for corporate teams

One of the key takeaways from Fink’s letter was the importance of ESG. As AlphaSense noted in its 2020 Year in Review, ESG stocks outperformed the market in the first half of last year. 

2020 also highlighted important social justice issues–the need for racial and gender equality was a key conversation throughout the year, as protests exploded during the summer and the CDP revealed that women accounted for 100% of the labor market’s job losses in December.

Pull Quotes: ESG	Track the Trend (Related Search)
“From January through November 2020, investors in mutual funds and ETFs invested $288 billion globally in sustainable assets, a 96% increase over the whole of 2019.1 I believe that this is the beginning of a long but rapidly accelerating transition – one that will unfold over many years and reshape asset prices of every type.”	Mutual funds and ETFs: sustainable assets
“As you issue sustainability reports, we ask that your disclosures on talent strategy fully reflect your long-term plans to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, as appropriate by region. We hold ourselves to this same standard.”	Sustainability reports: Large-Cap companies Corporate Responsibility Reports: Large-Cap companies DEI Reports: Large-Cap companies Diversity in the workforce Equal Pay and gender equality in the workplace
“It’s not just that broad-market ESG indexes are outperforming counterparts. It’s that within industries – from automobiles to banks to oil and gas companies – we are seeing another divergence: companies with better ESG profiles are performing better than their peers, enjoying a “sustainability premium.””	Automotive Industry ESG Reports Banks Industry ESG Reports Oil & Gas Industry ESG Reports

 

Net zero carbon emissions should be the ultimate goal

The pandemic highlighted how quickly a company’s success can be impacted by external events. Fink points to climate change as the external event that will impact all companies and calls on them to incorporate it into their ESG strategies—both to minimize the risk, but also to generate new business.

Pull Quotes: Net Zero	Track the Trend (Related Searches)
“There is no company whose business model won’t be profoundly affected by the transition to a net zero economy – one that emits no more carbon dioxide than it removes from the atmosphere by 2050, the scientifically-established threshold necessary to keep global warming well below 2ºC.”	Net Zero Economy
“ In 2020, the EU, China, Japan, and South Korea all made historic commitments to achieve net zero emissions. With the U.S. commitment last week to rejoin the Paris Agreement, 127 governments – responsible for more than 60% of global emissions – are considering or already implementing commitments to net zero.”	Paris Climate Agreement Climate Commitments – Large-Cap Companies
“Companies with a well-articulated long-term strategy, and a clear plan to address the transition to net zero, will distinguish themselves with their stakeholders – with customers, policymakers, employees and shareholders – by inspiring confidence that they can navigate this global transformation.”	Net-Zero Strategies Carbon Neutrality Strategies

 

Companies must track and disclose ESG data/strategies

Pull Quotes: Data and Disclosure

Track the Trend (Related Searches)

“Assessing sustainability risks requires that investors have access to consistent, high-quality, and material public information. This is why last year, we asked all companies to report in alignment with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which covers a broader set of material sustainability factors. We are greatly encouraged by the progress we have seen over the past year – a 363% increase in SASB disclosures and more than 1,700 organizations expressing support for the TCFD. (BlackRock issued our own inaugural TCFD and SASB reports last year.)”

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Tracker (TCFD) Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Tracker (SASB) BlackRock TCFD Report BlackRock SASB Report

 

Moving Forward: Optimism and Aladdin Climate

Fink maintains a positive outlook moving forward, noting that “many companies are taking these challenges seriously–they are embracing the demands of greater transparency, greater accountability to stakeholders, and better preparation for climate change.”

To better understand climate risks, BlackRock announced that it is developing Aladdin Enterprise. The new organization aims to help investors manage and meet their climate objectives by measuring the portfolio impacts of physical risks like extreme weather and transition risks like the impact of policy changes, technology, and energy supply.

Gain access to thousands of ESG reports from leading companies and set up alerts around themes like climate change, racial & gender equality, net-zero strategies with AlphaSense.

 Not an AlphaSense user? Sign up for a free two-week trial. 

According to The Carbon Majors Database, 100 of the world’s largest companies have been responsible for 71% of global GHG emissions since 1998, a leading cause of global warming. Of that same total, 32% of all emissions come from public investor-owned companies.

Over the last six months, many large-cap companies have made commitments to achieve carbon neutrality or net-zero emissions, noting that COVID-19 highlighted the importance of ESG. This sentiment was echoed in BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s 2021 Letter to CEOs, where he warned corporate executives to quickly address climate change or face financial consequences.

Government bodies have started to shift as well. Last week, California lawmakers proposed The Climate Corporate Accountability Act, or SB 260, which would require businesses to disclose a thorough inventory of their carbon emissions each year. This bill would apply to all companies making more than a billion dollars a year in California, regardless of where the company is headquartered.

The conversation around ESG has become more prominent since the start of the pandemic, but in reality, the trend has been growing for years. Mentions of net-zero strategies and carbon neutrality have been increasing year over year in earnings transcripts, SEC filings, press releases, and investor relations presentations.

Looking deeper into AlphaSense data, we can see that Utilities, Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels, and Banks mentioned carbon neutrality and carbon reduction the most in 2020.

Industry Name	Documents	% of Total Mentions
Electric Utilities	1050	16%
Multi-Utilities	678	10%
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels	471	7%
Banks	426	7%
Automobiles	314	5%
Metals & Mining	302	5%
Chemicals	208	3%
Electrical Equipment	183	3%
Diversified Telecommunication Services	170	3%
Pharmaceuticals	162	3%

To better understand how corporate teams are adapting to a world now-focused on ESG, we have compiled a list of 20 large-cap companies that have shared their climate commitments within the last six months, with over half pledging to reach net-zero emissions by 2030. Interested in ESG and climate commitments? Download AlphaSense’s Sustainable Success Report or track the trend in our 2020 End of Year Report.

 

Climate Commitments and Carbon Neutrality Strategies: Large-Cap Companies

Within the last six months, the following large-cap companies have announced new climate commitments and carbon neutrality goals post-COVID. Dig into the full list of companies sharing their climate commitments and carbon neutrality strategies.

Company	Commitment	Document Link
Mastercard	Pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Working towards its SBTi-approved goal to reduce total Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 38% and Scope 3 emissions by 20% by 2025 from a 2016 baseline.	Mastercard Pledges Net Zero Emissions; Innovates for Collective Climate Action
Clorox	Achieved its goal of 100% renewable electricity for its U.S. and Canadian operations four years earlier than originally planned (1/25/2021)	Clorox Achieves Goal of 100% Renewable Electricity for U.S. and Canada
Boeing	Committed that its commercial airplanes are capable and certified to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030. Will reduce carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2050.	Boeing Commits to Deliver Commercial Airplanes Ready to Fly on 100% Sustainable Fuels
Equinix	Pledges to be carbon neutral by 2030 as a part of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Operator Pact and Self-Regulatory Initiative.	Equinix Joins European Cloud and Data Center Providers to Make Historic Pledge Towards Climate Neutrality by 2030
Bristol Myers Squibb	By 2030, the company will purchase 100% of the electricity it uses from renewable sources, and by 2040, it will be carbon neutral in its Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect) emissions and reach the targets of equitable water use, zero waste to landfill and 100% electric vehicles in its fleet.	Bristol Myers Squibb Strengthens its Commitment to the Environment with New Corporate Goals
GE	Committed to carbon neutrality by 2030 and announced intention to exit the new-build coal power market.	GE Releases Position on Climate Change: Calls for Accelerated Deployment of Renewables & Gas Power To Drive Impactful, Faster Decarbonization
GM	Committed to carbon neutrality in its global products and operations by 2040 and has committed to setting science-based targetsⁱⁱ to achieve carbon neutrality. The company has also signed the Business Ambition Pledge for 1.5⁰C,	General Motors, the Largest U.S. Automaker, Plans to be Carbon Neutral by 2040
Xcel Energy	Xcel Energy has a goal to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030 (over 2005 levels) and ultimately deliver 100% carbon-free electricity to customers by 2050.	Xcel Energy 2020 Year End Earnings Report
Amgen	Launched a new set of long-term targets which will have us achieve carbon neutrality by 2027, have us reducing water consumption by some 40% and waste by some 75%, again, through the end of 2027.	Amgen: JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Transcript
The Walt Disney Company	By 2030: achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for direct operations by 2030; purchasing/producing 100% zero-carbon electricity for all operations; sourcing sustainable materials for paper, wood, and palm oil	The Walt Disney Company Sets 2030 Environmental Goals
Exxon Mobil	Committed to net-zero by 2050	Exxon Mobil 2021 Energy & Carbon Summary
Costco	Introduced a 10-point plan to reduce carbon emissions of direct operations and supplier operations.	Costco Annual General Meeting
Boston Scientific	Committed to 100% renewable energy by 2024 and carbon neutrality in manufacturing and distribution by 2030.	Boston Scientific JP Morgan Healthcare Conference Presentation
Apple	Committed to carbon neutrality across its entire business, manufacturing supply chains, and product life cycle by 2030. Apple is already carbon neutral for its corporate emissions	Apple Notice of 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders & Proxy Statement
Facebook	In Q3 set a new goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions for its value chain in 2030. This is in addition to its current plans for its global operations to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and be 100% supported by renewable energy by the end of 2020 and beyond.	Facebook Q3 2020 Earnings Call
Amazon	In 2020, the tech giant became the world’s largest purchaser of renewable energy. It plans to run operations with 100% renewable energy, five years ahead of the company’s initial target of 2030; delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all shipments net-zero carbon, with 50% net-zero carbon by 2030; and purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles	Amazon Becomes World’s Largest Corporate Purchaser of Renewable Energy, Advancing its Climate Pledge Commitment to be Net-zero Carbon by 2040
Coca-Cola	Aspires to become net-zero by 2040 across its entire value chain, and it will reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030	Coca-Cola 2020 10K
Microsoft	Committed to be carbon negative by 2030 and remove from the environment all the carbon it has emitted directly or by electrical consumption by 2050. The company has been carbon neutral since 2012 and is committed to promoting sustainable development and low-carbon business	2020 Microsoft Corporate Social Responsibility Report
Unilever	100% renewable energy by 2030, with an interim milestone of 100% renewable grid electricity worldwide by 2020—which was achieved in January 2020. In June 2020, Unilever committed to net zero emissions from all its products, from sourcing to point of sale, by 2039.	Unilever Climate Transition Action Plan
Google	Google has been carbon neutral each year since 2007. Now, it is committed to run its operations purely on carbon-free energy by 2030. Announced in Q3 that it has purchased enough carbon offsets to essentially cancel out all the planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions the company has released since it was founded in 1998.	Alphabet CDP Climate Change Response

This week, J.P. Morgan hosted one of the largest healthcare conferences of the year, connecting hundreds of industry leaders, emerging fast-growth companies, and investors. 

Over 300 presenters took the virtual stage, covering digital health (AI, deep learning, telehealth, telemedicine, wearable technology), data analytics, preventative care, and, of course, the COVID-19 vaccine. Last year, J.P. Morgan’s 38th Annual Healthcare Conference occurred before lockdowns, social distancing, and the race for a vaccine. 

Within one year, Healthcare’s focus changed dramatically, and many presenters noted that 2020 was a banner year for pharmaceutical companies, and the trends that surfaced are likely to continue in 2021. 

During this year’s conference, 46% of transcripts came from Biotechnology companies, followed by Healthcare Equipment companies (15%) and Pharmaceutical companies (15%).

You can read every transcript from J.P. Morgan’s 39th Annual Healthcare Conference by logging into AlphaSense or signing up for a free trial.

 

Takeaways

• 335 companies presented at the J.P. Morgan’s 39th Annual Healthcare Conference, which took place from January 11th – 14th, 2021.
• This year’s conference was held virtually for the first time. JP Morgan’s analysts provided research and in-depth analysis ahead of time.
• Mckesson, CVS Health, and Pfizer spearheaded the Keynote Panel “COVID-19 Vaccines: From the Lab to Your Arm,” covering all aspects of COVID-19 vaccines, from development, production to distribution, logistics and to longer-term outlook for the pandemic.
• Pfizer’s Chairman of the Board & CEO Albert Bourla sat down for a Fireside Chat. discussing vaccines, technology, drug prices, and more. When talking about the mRNA vaccine, Bourla said that “mRNA can completely disrupt the flu market.”
• COVID-19 disruption was the dominant theme, and companies spoke to how they will play a role in vaccine distribution, testing, and how it will continue to impact their businesses. COVID-19 has accelerated the focus on the consumer through rising telehealth penetration and reimbursement, virtual intake, and increased provider communication with patients as they worked to reassure them of new safety protocols.
• Within JPM’s coverage universe, all of the Rx channel names have provided FY21 guidance with the exception of CVS. In total, 16 companies have not yet provided full initial FY21 guidance: CVS, LH, DGX, CERN, CHNG, TDOC, ONEM, HSIC, PDCO, OMI, HCAT, HQY, EVH, MDRX, PHR, and PGNY.

 

The 20 largest big-cap companies/presenters

 

Conference transcripts by industry

 

Consumer Staples: Drug Retail

 

Healthcare Technology

 

Healthcare Equipment & Supplies

 

Healthcare Providers & Services

 

Biotechnology Presentations

 

Pharmaceuticals

 

Life Sciences Tools & Services

In 2020, remote work and return to work were two massive themes among corporate teams. Executives made public comments on their proposed return to office dates, while analysts predicted a new shift to a remote-first world. In fact, Morgan Stanley analyzed over 700 occupations and found that the number of people who could continue to work from home is nearly 30% (with increased numbers in San Francisco [~55%] and New York [40%].) 

As we enter 2021, how have executives changed their tone about a return to office in early 2021? And, with vaccines rapidly distributing around the world, are executives hesitant to allow full-time remote employees? 

Staying on top of flexible workforce strategies is essential this year. Log in to AlphaSense to track corporate remote work strategies, or sign up for a free trial.

Amazon

Amazon was one of the first large employers to allow remote work when COVID-19 hit the United States. In April, Amazon extended its WFH policy through October 1, 2020, followed by January 8, 2021. This week, Amazon revised its “return to work” date to June 30, 2021.

“We continue to prioritize the health of our employees and follow local government guidance,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Employees with work that can effectively be done from home can continue to do that work from home through June 30, 2021. We have invested significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe through physical distancing, deep cleaning, temperature checks, and by providing face coverings and hand sanitizer.”

Facebook

Facebook plans to keep staff remote until July 2021. Brynn Harrington, VP of People Growth, noted that the company needs its employees to “be successful whether they’re at the office or not. We need to be able to enable teams to work connected in a unified experience.”

To that end, “the remote experience should be the Facebook experience,” Harrington says. Facebook will offer flexible remote options to employees but still anticipates a large return to work this year.

Infosys

Information technology and services company Infosys, plans on having “33%-50%” of its workforce work from home permanently, with a return to work sometime in mid-2021.

“We have to build an environment where the distributed and connected paradox works by facilitating remote collaboration at scale,” the company said in a statement. “We supported distributed remote working for the majority of our workforce, and from our experience, there are many essential ingredients to be remote-first.”

Microsoft

Microsoft is giving its employees the option to work from home through at least January 19, 2021. Microsoft informed employees this week that they will have more flexibility to work from home, even after it’s safe to return to offices.

The new guidelines, allow all Microsoft employees to work remotely less than 50% of the time. Employees can also request approval from their managers to work remotely full time, or even move to a new location, with salaries adjusted based on geography.

Airbnb

Airbnb announced in late Q3 that their employees would be working remotely until at least August 2021, following behind tech giants as COVID-19 continues to spread. With their announcement, Airbnb’s CEO noted that they would be adding a $500 work from home stipend to help with equipment and desk setup.

“While we don’t know when the pandemic will end, we want to provide our employees with flexibility and choice to make decisions about the next year,” the company said in the blog post. “We are offering this remote working extension to give employees the ability to plan further ahead and make the choices they need around school calendars, being closer to family, caring for vulnerable family members, and other personal decisions.” 

PayPal

PayPal is a financial technology company with a platform that allows buyers and sellers to securely conduct online transactions. PayPal works with over 179 million merchants and consumers from more than 200 international markets. Remote work plans: PayPal employees will work from home until October 1, 2020.

Shopify

In May, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke announced a full shift to remote work on social media, proclaiming that the e-commerce tech company is “digital by default” and that “office centricity is over.”

Before COVID-19, most Shopify employees worked in-office, however, Shopify’s CEO expects that the company is leading the charge into the future, where centralized offices will merely serve as a way to help new hires transition to remote working environments. 

How will Shopify adapt their office culture in 2021? Track their transition to a fully remote workforce here.

Apple

After stating that employees would return back to work in early 2021, Apple CEO Time Cook informed his staff in December that most teams would not return to office until June 2021.

“There’s no replacement for face-to-face collaboration, but we have also learned a great deal about how we can get our work done outside of the office without sacrificing productivity or results,” he announced in a recent transcript. “All of these learnings are important. When we’re on the other side of this pandemic, we will preserve everything that is great about Apple while incorporating the best of our transformations this year.”

Salesforce

Salesforce employees have the option of working from home through at least August 2021. Previously, all 49,000 employees were allowed to work remotely until the end of 2020.

While Salesforce is slowly reopening its 160 offices around the world based on local government guidelines and the advice of medical experts, extending the work from home option to next summer gives employees the ability to plan ahead, the company said.

Siemens

Siemens, the global industrial electrical engineering and electronics corporation, announced in late 2020 that 140,000 of Siemens’ employees can permanently work from home for two to three days per week.

CEO Roland Busch announced  “The basis for this forward-looking working model is further development [of] our corporate culture. These changes will also be associated with a different leadership style, one that focuses on outcomes rather than on time spent at the office. We trust our employees and empower them to shape their work themselves so that they can achieve the best possible results. With the new way of working, we’re motivating our employees while improving the company’s performance capabilities and sharpening Siemens’ profile as a flexible and attractive employer.”

Interested in how 2020’s biggest trends will impact 2021? Download our latest guide “2020 Year in Review: Analyzing a Pandemic-Struck Market”.

With the great vaccine race largely behind us, the focus has now shifted to the arguably greater challenge of distribution.

As of Friday, January 6th, there have been over 17 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered within the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 5 million people in the United States have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, this is short of a federal goal to vaccinate 20 million recipients before the end of 2020. 

 

Data Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention | Distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in The United States as of 1/7/2021.

Globally, 37 countries have administered the vaccine at a record-setting pace, marking a turning point in the pandemic at a time when deaths and cases continue to set records. More than 10 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been pre-ordered. 

In addition to Moderna and Pfizer, vaccine developers who have already reported promising phase III trial results will make enough doses to vaccinate more than one-third of the world’s population by the end of 2021. For the remaining two thirds, it’s likely that some will be waiting until 2023 or 2024 for vaccination, according to estimates from the Duke Global Health Innovation Center.

Stay on top of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine distribution with AlphaSense. Log in to save this search or sign up for a free trial to track the trend.

Takeaways from this week:

• Moderna is on track to deliver up to one billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.
• The United Kingdom government exercised its option to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine on 1/7.
• Israel’s PM says every Israeli citizen over age 16 will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of March 2021.
• Swiss logistics company Kuhne + Nagel (SWX: KNIN) will provide distribution and storage of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine globally.
• Spain will receive 600,000 doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine within the coming six weeks.
• Colombia has agreed to buy 10 million doses each of the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines and nine million from Janssen.
• Moderna will provide 40 million doses to the Republic of Korea.

Pfizer

Corporate IT Update – 1/7/2021

Israel’s PM says every Israeli citizen over age 16 will be vaccinated for COVID-19 by the end of March 2021. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he needs just 12 more weeks to vaccinate the entire country, CNN reported on Friday.

This follows the reaching of an agreement with US pharmaceutical company Pfizer that will speed up deliveries into Israel of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Trade Journal – 1/6/2021

The first deliveries of COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna to European countries from Moderna’s dedicated non-US supply chain are expected to begin next week, the company stated, also noting that the EMA had exercised its option for a total of 160 million doses.

On December 21, the Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech (Nasdaq: BNTX) COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty (BNT162b2) was granted conditional marketing authorization by the European Commission, on the recommendation of the EMA.

Press Release – 1/6/2021

The President of Colombia, Ivan Duque, has stated that the country’s food and drug regulator, the National Institute of Food and Drug Surveillance (Invima), authorized the emergency use of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Colombia has agreed to buy 10 million doses each of the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, as well as nine million from Janssen. It has also secured 20 million vaccine doses via the World Health Organisation-backed COVAX mechanism.

Financial Times – 1/6/2021

Frontline health workers have questioned the feasibility of Boris Johnson’s ambition to vaccinate the most vulnerable Britons by mid-February, suggesting that more needs to be done to ensure there is a big enough workforce to meet the target.

Another professional body, the National Pharmacy Association, said there had been “widespread and growing” interest in joining the Covid inoculation program among pharmacies since the approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Its easier storage requirements, compared with the BioNTech/Pfizer version, meant many more chemists were now capable of offering vaccinations.

Trade Journal – 1/5/2021

With India set to distribute Covid-19 vaccines, Thermo King, by Trane Technologies, whose cold chain products are used by FedEX and UPS to deliver Pfizer vaccine in the US, has launched its expanded portfolio of cold chain solutions in India. These cold chain solutions can keep vaccines at temperatures from a range of +25° C to as low as -70° C.

The company’s advanced cold chain technologies will help address the unique challenges of Covid-19 vaccine distribution in India, whose large population is spread across vast and varied geographies, from densely populated cities to far-flung rural communities.

Trade Journal – 1/5/2021

France has already received 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots developed by America’s Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, and other 580,000 jabs will be delivered on Wednesday, according to the minister. It has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies.

Moderna

Press Release – 1/7/2021

The United Kingdom government has also exercised its option to purchase an additional 10 million doses of the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna, bringing its confirmed order commitment to 17 million doses. The first deliveries of the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna to the UK from Moderna’s dedicated non-U.S. supply chain are expected to commence early in 2021.

The UK is the fifth jurisdiction to authorize COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna, following the United States on December 18, 2020, Canada on December 23, 2020, Israel on January 4, 2021 and the European Union on January 6, 2021. Additional authorizations are currently under review in a number of countries including Singapore and Switzerland.

Trade Journal – 1/7/2021

Swiss logistics company Kuhne + Nagel (SWX: KNIN) has reached a deal to provide distribution and storage of Moderna’s (NASDAQ:MRNA) COVID-19 vaccine, the two firms said on Thursday. Kuhne + Nagel will distribute the vaccine to markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa as well as parts of the Americas. At all stages of transport and storage, product integrity at the required temperature of minis 20°C (68°F) will be maintained, the Swiss firm said.

Press Release – 1/7/2021

The Health Minister of Spain, Salvador Illa, said on 7 January 2021 that Spain will receive 600,000 doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine within the coming six weeks, Reuters news agency reported on Thursday.

Trade Journal – 1/6/2021

Moderna confirmed the Company has entered into a supply agreement with the government of the Republic of Korea to provide 40 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine to support the government’s aim of providing vaccines to the public as soon as possible.

According to a media release, under the terms of the proposed agreement, deliveries would begin in May 2021. The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is not currently approved for use in South Korea, and the Company will work with regulators to pursue the necessary approvals prior to distribution.

Interested in how 2020’s biggest trends will impact 2021? Download our latest guide “2020 Year in Review: Analyzing a Pandemic-Struck Market”.