Exclusive | Fosun hopes to launch BioNTech and Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine in China at the same time as US and Europe, Guo Guangchang says
- The mRNA vaccine has been developed by German next-generation immunotherapy company BioNTech and US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer
- Fosun has agreed to pay up to US$135 million towards the vaccine’s development and for exclusive rights for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau
Guo Guangchang, the billionaire chairman of Fosun International, said he was hopeful that a Covid-19 vaccine candidate his company is trying to bring to the mainland will become available in China as soon as it hits shelves in the United States and Europe.
“We hope the market launch of the vaccine in China will be held at the same time as in the US and Europe,” he told the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo on Friday. “Or, at least, the timing of its launch in China will be just a little bit behind them.”
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BioNTech and Pfizer are conducting a late-stage global clinical trial with about 44,000 participants in more than 130 centres. Pfizer will apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorisation when safety data is available in the third week of November. A combined annual capacity of 1.3 billion doses will be operational next year.
Unlike typical vaccines, which use either dead or weakened forms of viruses to jump-start the body’s natural defences, the mRNA vaccine relies on RNA to start the production of proteins that are similar enough to the virus to trigger the development of antibodies effective against the actual target.