The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
Photographer: Bing Guan / Bloomberg
A Chinese pharmacist has secured 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed jointly by Pfizer Inc. i BioNTech SE, as the country seeks shots abroad, as well as homemade products, to ensure vaccination of the world’s most populous nation.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co., which in March made an agreement with BioNTech to develop and market the mRNA that was fired in China, will make an advance payment of 250 million euros ($ 300 million) for 50 million of initial doses. The German vaccine manufacturer will supply no less than 100 million doses to China by the end of 2021, according to Fosun in a “Just published” ad class = “terminal-news-story” target = “_ blank”>statement filed Wednesday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Although the shot is known worldwide as the one jointly developed by Pfizer, the American company is not involved in the deal.
Experimental catches developed by national developers, including those owned by the state China National Biotec Group Co. i Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is about to be approved by Chinese drug regulators, with expectations of 1.6 billion doses to be phased out in 2021.
Still, vaccines require two shots, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised that any successful shot will also be accessible to the developing world. This will create a deficit as China tries to inoculate its 1.4 billion people, prompting the need for additional supplies.
AstraZeneca Plc has also signed an agreement with a local partner to bring its vaccine to China. Meanwhile, several Chinese developers like it CanSino Biologics Inc. i Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co. it is also developing inoculations at an earlier stage, and its features will increase domestic supply once regulatory barriers are removed.
Although test results indicate that Pfizer-BioNTech’s shot is 95% effective against Covid-19, none of the Chinese manufacturers have yet to officially announce efficacy data.
The Pfizer-BioNTech feature has already been approved for emergency use in the US and the UK, among other countries. Fosun will seek regulatory assent in China using data from an ongoing local Phase II trial and Phase III trials abroad.
Last week, Fosun won a Hong Kong order for 7.5 million doses.
– With the assistance of Dong Lyu
(Add details about vaccine efficacy data. The previous version corrected the time period in the second paragraph)