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 Interim data from an early-stage human trial outside China has
showed Providence's shot PTX-COVID19-B was safe and produced strong
antibody responses, Everest said in a statement on Monday.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines prompt the body to make a protein that
is part of the virus, triggering an immune response. Companies
including Pfizer and BioNTech, and Moderna use mRNA technology in
their COVID-19 shots.
China is yet to approve an mRNA COVID shot. It has fully vaccinated
nearly 70% of its 1.4 billion population as of Sept. 6, using shots
mainly from Sinopharm and Sinovac.
At least four potential mRNA COVID shots are already being tested in
China, including three domestically developed candidates and one
from BioNTech and its local partner Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical
Groups.
Providence will be paid $50 million in cash upfront for
PTX-COVID19-B and other COVID mRNA vaccine candidates targeting
specific variants that haven't yet entered clinical trials. It will
also receive up to $100 million in profit-sharing initially, and
more in royalties later.
Everest expects to complete building a factory by the end of this
year in eastern Zhejiang province to make the vaccine, with an
annual capacity to produce "a couple of hundred millions" doses,
Everest Chief Executive Kerry Blanchard told Reuters.
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 The timeline for setting up
production lines depended on when the two
companies complete the technology transfer, he
said.
India's Biological E. announced in June a
licencing deal with Providence to manufacture
its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in the South Asian
nation. Apart from China,
Everest has obtained rights for Providence's COVID-19 vaccine
candidates for more than 10 countries including Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam, where vaccination rates are low, and Singapore.
The two companies will also collaborate on two other preventive or
therapeutic products, likely in infectious disease areas, and
Everest will also use Providence's mRNA platform to develop more
treatments.
For these additional collaborations Providence will get $50 million
upfront in cash and up to $300 million in future milestone payments
in newly issued Everest stock.
(Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh
and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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