US vaccine maker Moderna set to sign US$1 billion Shanghai deal in major inroad into China’s healthcare market
- The maker of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines is expected to sign an agreement with the Shanghai government as early as Wednesday
- The US$1 billion would be ploughed into several vaccine development and manufacturing projects, according to sources
US vaccine maker Moderna is expected to sign an agreement with the Shanghai government as early as Wednesday to invest about US$1 billion in the commercial hub of China as it promotes mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid)-based products in the world’s second-largest economy.
The company’s CEO Stephane Bancel has landed in Shanghai to seal the investment deal, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The signing of the foreign direct investment (FDI) deal comes after Moderna set up a legal entity in Shanghai earlier this year for what it described as a preliminary step to engage in the Chinese market.
The US$1 billion would be ploughed into several vaccine development and manufacturing projects, the sources said, without elaborating.
Neither the Shanghai municipal government, nor Moderna has responded to queries by the Post yet.
Moderna has set up a Chinese subsidiary Moderna (China) Biotech in Shanghai’s southwestern Minhang district.
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On May 26, a company spokesperson said in response to a query from Reuters that it was exploring opportunities in China and was looking to “bring the power of Moderna’s mRNA platform to the people of China”.
The company so far has no presence on the Chinese mainland. It opened an office in Hong Kong last year as part of its Asian expansion plan.
Moderna is advancing its foray into the mainland market despite souring US-China relations. The US is working on new regulations that would limit capital and information flows into sensitive technologies in China, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI). A Biden administration executive order that would potentially cut off certain US investments in China’s tech businesses is nearing completion, and officials are aiming to have it ready as soon as late July, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the internal deliberations.
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One source familiar with the local government’s thinking said that Shanghai Communist Party boss Chen Jining, who graduated from the Imperial College London with a PhD in environmental systems analysis, is determined in his resolve to attract top global companies with unique technologies to invest in Shanghai. He is also knowledgeable about global trends in pharmaceutical development, the source added.
“Shanghai officials are still active in drawing overseas capital to spur the local economy,” said Wang Feng, chairman of Shanghai-based financial services group Ye Lang Capital. “By bringing in Moderna, the success story will help it convince other investors of the city’s sound business climate.”
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Moderna’s high-profile FDI project would follow that of Tesla, which built its US$2 billion electric vehicle plant at the Lingang free-trade zone in 2018.
Tesla’s Gigafactory is now the carmaker’s largest production hub worldwide. It churned out 710,000 vehicles last year, more than half of the company’s total output of 1.31 million units.
Moderna’s revenue growth has slowed sharply due to reduced demand for its Covid-19 vaccine, the company’s only approved product.
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In simple terms, mRNA technology delivers instructions that prompt cells in the patient’s body to produce a specific protein or proteins. In the case of a vaccine, the proteins produced are similar enough to the proteins that the virus produces that they provoke the patient’s immune system into fighting the virus. Aside from vaccines, the technology is widely expected to find applications in medical therapies for a variety of diseases.
