(Yicai) March 14 -- CanSino Biologics said that the lawsuit over the termination of a Covid-19 vaccine deal filed by its former Brazilian partner Belcher Farmaceutica will not affect the Chinese drugmaker’s operation and production.

CanSino believes it has a strong defense position in the lawsuit as it had already revoked Belcher’s authorization and had not signed any other written agreements with it, the Tianjin-based company noted in a statement late yesterday.

Belcher recently filed a lawsuit to a Brazilian court claiming BRL167 million (USD33.6 million) in compensation for related losses, fees, and spiritual damage from CanSino following the termination of their Covid-19 vaccine partnership. The court has accepted the case but has yet to open trials.

CanSino issued a document authorizing Belcher to negotiate with the Brazilian government about the registration and commercialization of its Covid-19 jab in the country on April 19, 2021. The document, which had a six-month validity, was revoked by CanSino on June 10 that year, before its Covid-19 vaccine was approved by Brazilian authorities.

The Covid-19 jab developed by CanSino was one of China’s first to receive emergency use authorizations in the Chinese mainland and overseas. Sales of the product brought the company a total of CNY4.3 billion (USD597.9 million) in revenue and CNY1.9 billion in net profit in 2021.

However, CanSino’s earnings started to decline with the easing of the pandemic. The firm reported a net loss of CNY909 million (USD126.4 million) in 2022 and CNY1.4 billion last year.

CanSino [SHA: 688185] closed 0.2 percent down at CNY56.60 (USD7.87) in Shanghai today. The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG: 6185] fell 2.6 percent to HKD17.48 (USD2.24). Both stocks have plunged more than 80 percent since the beginning of 2022.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione