Shanghai-based Everest Medicines said it signed a license agreement with Providence Therapeutics to make and sell the Canadian biotech company’s mRNA COVID vaccine hopefuls in various Asian countries, including China.
Everest will pay $50 million in cash upfront for Providence's PTX-COVID19-B and other COVID mRNA vaccine candidates targeting specific variants that haven’t yet entered clinical trials. Providence will also receive up to $100 million in profit-sharing initially, and more in royalties later.
China, which has fully vaccinated nearly 70% of its 1.4 billion population, has yet to approve an mRNA COVID shot.
Everest expects to complete building a factory by the end of this year in China's eastern Zhejiang province to make the PTX-COVID19-B vaccine.
Everest has also obtained rights for Providence’s COVID-19 vaccine candidates for more than 10 countries including Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Singapore.
Read the press release