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Moderna said Wednesday it has struck a deal with Chinese officials to research, develop and manufacture messenger RNA drugs in the country despite rising tensions between the US and China.
The Massachusetts-based biotech company signed a memorandum of understanding and related collaboration agreement to develop drugs that are “exclusive to the Chinese people” and will not “be exported,” a Moderna spokesperson told CNBC.
First the Chinese media outlet Yicai reported on Tuesday that Moderna would make its first investment in China that could be worth about $1 billion, citing unnamed sources. The outlet also reported that Moderna CEO Stephen Bankel was visiting Shanghai.
Moderna’s spokesperson would not confirm the report or comment on the size of the deal.
“These agreements are aimed at strengthening health security by addressing unmet needs and contributing to the ecosystem of medical solutions available to patients in China,” the spokesperson said.
Moderna is trying to capitalize on the success of its Covid vaccine, which uses a platform called mRNA to teach human cells to mount an immune response against a virus.
Moderna has several contracts to export or locally produce Covid vaccines for countries such as Japan, Canada, Australia and Kenya. The deal announced on Wednesday is the company’s first deal with China.
It is also the first deal to cover mRNA drug development in general, not just Covid shots.
Moderna said it did in May happy to sell his mRNA Covid vaccine to China after registering a legal entity in the second largest economy in the world.
But the company and other US-based companies have been barred from the Chinese market so far.
Beijing has repeatedly pushed for the use of Chinese-made Covid vaccines for its population, even though their injections are considered less effective than jabs from Moderna and New York. Pfizer.
The country has also struggled to develop mRNA technology at home during the pandemic. China only approved its first mRNA recording earlier this year.
Separately on Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said so held a meeting with some of the world’s largest drug manufacturers to discuss their business activities in the country.
That includes Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Merck, Sanofi And GE HealthCare Technologies. It is unclear whether Moderna is involved in the round table discussion.
Moderna’s deal comes as tensions rise between the US and China over issues ranging from national security to heavy reliance on Chinese supply chains. The Biden administration has become aggressive measures to diversify away from China in investment and trade.