China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (02197.HK) was finally looking to the future after a big bet on Covid vaccines failed to pay off. However, decisions made early on in the pandemic are still casting a long shadow.

The company went all-in to produce a Covid vaccine, stalling work on other projects in the race to come up with a domestically produced immunization option. But the Covid crisis had peaked by the time the product was ready for delivery. The investment turned sour and Clover Bio had to lay off nearly half its workforce.

Fast forward to the present day, and the company is now focusing its efforts on vaccines for other respiratory viruses. But the Covid era has presented another belated challenge to its corporate health. An international vaccines alliance served notice last month that it wanted to cancel a supply deal struck with Clover Bio back in 2021 and was seeking a $224 million refund for money already made.