Shares of Moderna Inc (NASDAQ:MRNA) surged over 1.56% to $122.88 in pre trading session on Tuesday after it has refused to hand up the primary intellectual property associated with the development of its renowned COVID-19 vaccine to China.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel stated earlier this month that the business has discussions with the Chinese government about delivering COVID-19 vaccinations.
According to two persons involved in discussions between 2020 and 2021, Moderna declined to transfer the technology for its COVID-19 vaccine due to commercial and safety concerns.
The corporation remains “desperate” to sell the goods to China.
According to the article, the Moderna team in Greater China stated that the business had “given up” on earlier efforts to join the Chinese market due to the high technical requirement required for vaccine sales in the nation. China has not licensed any imported COVID-19 vaccines and instead depends on a number of domestically manufactured vaccinations.
According to Moderna, who spoke to the Financial Times: “We are not currently in supply negotiations with China. We are willing to talk with governments about their Covid-19 vaccine supply needs.”
All of the main coronavirus vaccine manufacturers have experienced a drop in demand. Moderna is under intense pressure because the COVID-19 shot is the company’s sole authorized product.
MRNA shares were down 0.25% at $117.96 during the premarket session on Monday, according to the most recent check.
Moderna Has Turned Down China’s Request
The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Moderna Inc. has refused to hand over the essential intellectual property underpinning the creation of its COVID-19 vaccine to China, resulting in the failure of discussions on its sale there.
According to the newspaper, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company turned down China’s request to hand over the recipe for its mRNA vaccine due to commercial and safety concerns, citing people involved in negotiations between 2020 and 2021, adding that the vaccine maker is still “eager” to sell the product to China.
According to the article, the business had “given up” on earlier attempts to enter the Chinese market due to China’s demand that it hand up the technology as a condition for selling in the nation.