SHANGHAI, Aug 31 Reuters China39;s CanSino Biologics, which recently announced a contract manufacturing deal to support AstraZenca39;s messenger RNA mRNA technology vaccine programme, is in talks with more firms on similar deals, its CEO said, as it seeks new revenue streams to make up for plummeting COVID vaccine demand.

CanSino begun researching mRNA technology in 2018 and has built a facility in Shanghai that can produce up to 200 million doses a year, giving it the capacity to provide similar services to other companies, CanSino39;s CEO and cofounder Xuefeng Yu told Reuters in an interview.

This is the first step, he said, describing the AstraZenca deal announced earlier this month as a business model.

We do have discussions with not just the multinational giants, we also discuss with partners in Malaysia, Indonesia and Mexico, Argentina, any market that may need our technology and product.

AstraZeneca said the deal would support investigational mRNA vaccines early in its pipeline, but the companies have declined to provide any further details.

CanSino, whose onedose COVID shot is approved for sale in countries including China and Mexico, saw its revenues soar in 2021 at the height of the pandemic, but like many of its peers its sales have since tumbled as demand waned.

CanSino heavily relies on COVID vaccines and meningococcal vaccines for revenue. On Wednesday, it reported a gross loss of 776.5 million yuan 106.5 million in the first half, mainly due to…