Moderna Seals Landmark $1B Deal With China to Develop Exclusive mRNA Medicines

Moderna Inc. enters a historic $1 billion deal with China to research, develop, and produce exclusive mRNA medicines in the country. The agreement, announced amid growing Sino-American tensions, signifies Beijing's increasing openness to foreign pharmaceutical involvement.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company announced the new deal with Chinese officials on Wednesday, July 5. The agreement is for Moderna to research, develop and produce messenger RNA medicines in the country.

CNBC noted that an agreement was reached despite the growing tensions between China and the United States. Moderna and Beijing signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and land collaboration deal to develop drugs that will be made "exclusively for the Chinese people." This means the two sides agreed that the new drug would never be exported and remain in China.

A local media publication reported earlier this week that Moderna is set to invest about $1 billion in the project. It was added that Moderna's chief executive officer, Stephane Bancel, is set to visit Shanghai, possibly to talk more about the deal and for facility inspection.

"These agreements are focused on strengthening health security by targeting unmet needs and contributing to the ecosystem of medical solutions available to patients in China," the company's spokesman stated.

In a separate statement that was sent to Yahoo Finance, Moderna said, "We signed a memorandum of understanding and a related land collaboration agreement to work toward opportunities for Moderna to research, develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in China."

The deal shows that Moderna is trying to take advantage of the success of its COVID-19 vaccine that has been used on people worldwide. The vaccine used a platform called mRNA to push human cells to make an immune response against a virus. At any rate, the agreement was sealed on Wednesday, and this is Moderna's very first deal with the Chinese government.

Photo by: Ian Hutchinson/Unsplash