Walvax Biotech Terminates mRNA Vaccine Collaboration with Abogen Biosciences, Refocuses Strategy on New Partnerships

On June 25, Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced that,Termination of the cooperation with the partner Abogen Biosciences for the co-development of two mRNA vaccines: the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine and the shingles mRNA vaccine.

Walvax stated that the termination of this cooperation will not have a significant impact on the company's normal production and operations, and there is no circumstance that damages the interests of the company and its shareholders. Meanwhile, Walvax continues to advance the research, development, and industrialization of other vaccine products on the mRNA technology platform.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walvax chose Yingbo, a scientist from U.S.-based Moderna, to collaborate with his company Abogen Biosciences on the development of an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. This collaboration also paved the way for Walvax to venture into the development of other mRNA vaccines. At that time, many vaccine companies believed thatThe subsequent development difficulty of mRNA vaccines is lower than that of conventional vaccines. Once approved in China, the technology can be easily replicated for other vaccines.

It seems that both parties have lost patience now.

Slow Development Speed

Abogen, along with Stemirna and Livanda Bio, has been hailed by the industry as the "Three Musketeers" of domestically produced mRNA vaccines., founder Ying Bo once served as the head of R&D teams at several U.S. pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna, and became a favorite among investors. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Walvax quickly partnered with Abogen to initiate the development of an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.

Thanks to this collaboration, Walvax's stock price surged from 40 yuan per share to 90 yuan per share in just two months.

According to the division of cooperation at that time, Abogen was responsible for the preclinical research of the vaccine, including mRNA vaccine molecular design, chemical modification, and formulation process development, etc., while Walvax was responsible for the production, application, clinical research, and commercial production of the vaccine. However,The only information about this mRNA vaccine is that it received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in Indonesia in October 2020., and then disappeared from the public discourse in China.

In January 2022, *The Lancet Microbe* released the phase 1 clinical trial data of Abogen's COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, stating that within 56 days after vaccination, participants experienced systemic adverse reactions such as fever.

Walvax is still quite clever,Immediately switched to another partner.In January 2022, Walvax and Bluebird Bio signed an agreement to jointly develop a COVID-19 variant strain mRNA vaccine (S protein chimera). Although this vaccine, numbered RQ3013, was not successful, in December 2023, RQ3033, developed based on 3013, was finally approved for marketing.

Walvax has finally realized its dream of mRNA vaccines, but it’s too late.

As a leading company in the vaccine industry,Walvax's Heavy Investment in COVID-19 Vaccine Fails to Yield Commercial ReturnsThe bivalent HPV vaccine in hand has fallen into a "price war," causing the company's performance to plummet. According to the financial report, Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd.'s revenue in 2023 was 4.114 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.12%, and net profit decreased by 42.44% year-on-year. The decline in performance expanded in the first quarter of this year, with net profit falling by 91.79% year-on-year.

But anyway, Walvax got what it wanted,Finally, Walvax has grasped the blue magpie and seized an mRNA technology route., as for Abogen, it will no longer be mentioned.

Repositioning mRNA Vaccines

On June 25, Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. announced that it would adjust the company's organizational structure, making the mRNA vaccine a separate BU, officially becoming one of the company’s six major business units.

Walvax's subsequent mRNA technology platform is betting on Blue鹊 Biotech. At the beginning of this month, Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. replied on the investor interaction platform:The cooperation agreement for the respiratory syncytial virus mRNA vaccine and the shingles mRNA vaccine, co-developed by the company and Bluebird Biotechnology, is being performed as scheduled.

The application fields of mRNA technology are very broad, including preventive vaccines, therapeutic vaccines, and therapeutic drugs. CITIC Securities research report once predicted,The non-COVID mRNA market size is expected to reach 28.1 billion US dollars in 2025The market prospect of the mRNA industry chain is broad.

For Walvax, although it did not make a fortune from the COVID-19 vaccine, the accumulation of mRNA technology is particularly valuable. Walvax has publicly stated that the company has built an independently controlled mRNA technology platform and R&D capabilities, and has jointly created a leading professional team in China with its partners. In the future, the combined mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 and influenza will be one of its key R&D focuses.

In 2021, Walvax's expenditure on the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reached as high as 326 million yuan, accounting for 43.24% of all R&D expenses. In addition, Walvax Biotechnology is also located in the vaccine industrial park in Yuxi High-tech Zone.Construction of a dedicated mRNA vaccine production facility, with an investment of 520 million yuan and an annual capacity of 200 million doses.. The investment in these fixed assets and patented technologies will not be wasted at present.

As of now, there are still few companies globally that possess mRNA technology platforms and R&D capabilities, including Moderna, BioNTech, and CureVac. In May this year, Moderna announced,The mRNA Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine Under Its Arm Receives FDA Approval for Market Launch.

This is the world's first non-COVID mRNA vaccine.

The latest information shows that Abogen has shifted its focus to the oncology field. Which area will Walvax concentrate on in mRNA technology in the future? In this regard, Walvax once stated on the investor interaction platform that it involved the business secrets of its partners and it was not suitable to list them one by one. Please understand.

Author｜Xiaomi

Editor｜Jiang Yun, Jia Ting

Operation | Zhu Ying

Illustration｜Visual China

Statement: Original content by Jian Shi Ju, please do not reprint without permission.