China has long followed a restrictive zero-Covid policy.
(Photo: dpa)
Hong Kong The Covid vaccine Comirnaty from the Mainz-based company Biontech has played a major role in fighting the pandemic worldwide. So far, however, this does not apply to China. Biontech and the Chinese partner company Fosun have apparently been allowed to take an important step towards market access.
According to the Reuters news agency, Chinese people in Hong Kong will soon be able to have a booster dose of Comirnaty. Partner Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical said on Tuesday that users of its health app in China could register there for a second vaccination with the mRNA vaccine. The prerequisite is that they are over 18 years old and have had their first vaccination against the corona virus.
Shortly before Christmas, Biontech and Fosun Pharma received approval in Hong Kong for their vaccine adapted to the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 as a booster for children over the age of twelve.
Chinese vaccines less effective
Outside of Hong Kong and Macau, on the other hand, the mRNA vaccine in the People’s Republic has so far only been approved for so-called expats, i.e. foreign employees of companies. Shortly before Christmas, Biontech and Fosun delivered 11,500 doses of the vaccine to German expats in China.
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With a view to its own population, the Chinese government has so far only relied on vaccines developed in China, especially those from the companies Sinovac and Sinochem. These are vaccines based on inactivated corona viruses, but they have proven to be less efficient than the mRNA vaccines from Biontech and Moderna. In addition to the products from Sinopharm and Sinovac, four other vaccines based on proteins or modified viruses are approved in China.
>> Read also: 37 million infections a day in China – fear of new virus variants is increasing
In view of the lower effectiveness and lower vaccination rates, the Chinese population has so far been considered to be significantly less protected against Covid infections and serious illnesses than residents of Western countries. However, after moving away from its zero-Covid policy, the country is now facing a strong wave of infections.
The British analysis company Airfinity, which monitors the Covid vaccine market particularly closely, recently estimated that this wave could cause between 1.3 and 2.1 million deaths in China. The analysts assumed that so far only 40 percent of the people in the People’s Republic have received a booster vaccination.
For Biontech, a general approval of Comirnaty in China could therefore result in a significant expansion of the market volume for Comirnaty and thus significant additional sales. In accordance with the alliance agreed with Fosun Pharmaceuticals in 2020, distribution would be carried out exclusively via the Chinese partner.
Fosun would have to reimburse Biontech for the manufacturing costs, including an administration fee of ten to 19 percent. In addition, Biontech would be entitled to royalties of 30 to 50 percent of the profits that Fosun makes from distribution.
In this respect, the partnership is structured in a similar way to the alliance with Pfizer, in which Biontech and Pfizer share the gross profit from the joint vaccine business.
With agency material.
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