Everest Medicines, a Hong Kong-listed Chinese biopharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding for a partnership with China Resources Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, or CR Pharma, with the intent to establish an independent company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of messenger RNA vaccines.

Through this proposed partnership with CR Pharma, the mRNA-focused company will be well-positioned to advance its potentially best-in-class mRNA vaccine candidates through Chinese regulatory pathways and into commercialization, Everest said.

CR Pharma, a subsidiary of State-owned China Resources (Holdings) Co Ltd, said through this cooperation, the two companies intend to work together in the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and the development of other potential products using the mRNA technology platform, to contribute to China's public health.

Under the terms of the MOU, the mRNA company will be a fully functional, independent operating company, by assuming the rights under the existing collaboration with Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc, including the full technology platform, as well as Everest's mRNA manufacturing infrastructure. Everest will be the majority and controlling shareholder of the mRNA company.

The mRNA company will accelerate the late-stage development and registration of its potentially best-in-class mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate, PTX-COVID19-B, and continue the development of a second-generation COVID-19 vaccine with broad spectrum activity designed to be effective against but not limited to the Omicron variants, as well as two Collaboration Project with Providence that target new mRNA based vaccines, Everest said.

The mRNA company will also continue to advance the construction of Everest's global GMP manufacturing site in Jiashan, Zhejiang province, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2022. Once complete, the first phase of manufacturing will be dedicated to PTX-COVID19-B, with an expected annual capacity of 700-800 million doses. 

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn