Moderna Signs an Agreement with China to Develop mRNA Medicines

Moderna Inc, a vaccine manufacturer, announced earlier this week that it had signed a memorandum of understanding and a land collaboration agreement to explore opportunities to research, develop, and manufacture mRNA medicines in China. "Any medicines produced under this agreement will be exclusively for the Chinese people and will not be exported," sources said in an email response to a question.

He declined to comment on the size of the transaction and did not immediately provide any additional information. Earlier this week, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported that Moderna was planning its first investment in China, which could be worth up to $1 billion, and that Chief Executive Officer Stephane Bancel was in Shanghai. Moderna said in May it was looking for opportunities in China after registering a legal entity in the world's second-largest economy. The firm prior to this had no presence in mainland China.

It opened an office in Hong Kong last year as part of an Asia expansion. Its expansion into mainland China comes as its revenue growth slows sharply due to waning global demand for its COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. company's only approved product. Moderna in February forecast a possible net loss for 2023, calling it a transition year before it starts to see sales from experimental vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and flu. Those vaccines, based on the same mRNA platform as its COVID shot, have yet to be filed for regulatory approval decisions. Moderna has said that it was keen to sell its mRNA vaccine to China but the company and its foreign peers have so far been kept out as Beijing has insisted on using only Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines for its population.