India’s Biological E. to make Providence Therapeutics’ mRNA COVID-19 vaccine

India’s Biological E. said on Tuesday it has entered into a licensing agreement with Providence Therapeutics Holdings to manufacture the Canadian company’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in India.

Biological E., which also has a separate deal to produce about 600 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) COVID-19 shot annually, will run a clinical trial of Providence’s vaccine in India and seek emergency use approval for it, the company said in a statement.

Providence will sell up to 30 million doses of its mRNA vaccine, PTX-COVID19-B, to Biological E., and will also provide the necessary technology transfer of the shot, with a minimum production capacity of 600 million doses in 2022 and a target capacity of 1 billion doses.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

India has been struggling with a devastating second wave of the pandemic and has managed to fully vaccinate only about 3% of its population. On Monday, the Serum Institute of India said it will increase production of AstraZeneca’s (AZN.L) shot by nearly 40% in June, a step towards bridging the shortfall in the country.

“The mRNA platform has emerged as the front runner in delivering the first vaccines for emergency use to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mahima Datla, Biological E.’s managing director.

Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines prompt the body to make a protein that is part of the virus, triggering an immune response. U.S. companies Pfizer (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) use mRNA technology in their COVID-19 shots.

India’s drug regulator has approved clinical trials of another mRNA vaccine developed by local firm Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, and the government has said it will fund the studies. Reuters