(Yicai Global) May 26 -- American vaccines maker Moderna registered a biotech company in Shanghai this week following Chief Executive Stephane Bancel’s visit last month, according to corporate registration information.

Moderna Biotech China is controlled by Moderna Biotech UK, with Christoph Brackmann, senior vice president of finance at Moderna, as its legal representative, per business information platform Qichacha.

Moderna did not immediately respond to Yicai Global’s queries about the new entity, which has registered capital of USD100 million, and the Massachusetts-based company’s future investment plans in China.

Moderna will accelerate investment in Shanghai and join hands with its Chinese partners in research, development, and production, Bancel said during his recent visit.

Moderna and German vaccines maker BioNTech were the world’s first firms to come out with mRNA Covid-19 jabs, which were used to inoculate billions of people worldwide. Many biomedicine firms globally have entered the mRNA vaccine field since then and the technology behind it will likely be used in cancer therapies and other areas in the future.

But with the World Health Organization declaring that Covid-19 no longer constitutes a global public health emergency, the demand for vaccines will fall. Vaccine makers, including Moderna, are seeking new growth points, and investment in China will be an important part of their strategic development.

Developing single-dose combination shots against Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases will be a business direction in the future, per Moderna’s plans.

A combination vaccine against Covid-19 and flu virus developed by Moderna is now in the early stage of clinical trials, as too is a vaccine against the flu virus and respiratory syncytial virus. The firm is also developing a combination jab against Covid-19, the flu virus, and RSV.

Moderna’s combination vaccines could be available in the United States as early as 2025, according to Paul Burton, its chief medical officer.

China has not approved any mRNA vaccines by foreign makers.

Editors: Shi Yi, Peter Thomas