Sino Biopharm secures room for future growth with US$515 million investment in Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine unit
- Beijing-based generic drug maker buys 15 per cent stake in Sinovac Life Sciences, a unit of Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech
- Deal comes ahead of major announcement from China to launch 600 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for use this year
Sino Biopharmaceutical on Monday announced a US$515 million investment in Covid-19 vaccine developer Sinovac Life Sciences, as the Beijing-based generic drug maker seeks to expand its reach into vaccine development and sales.
The Hong Kong-listed company agreed to buy a 15 per cent stake in Sinovac Life Sciences, a unit of Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech.
“The board believes the capital contribution will introduce a key strategic partner to the group and expects that both parties will join efforts to expand the partnership in further improving vaccine sales capability, expansion to overseas markets as well as development for new technologies,” Sino Biopharmaceuticals said in an exchange filing on Monday.
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“The immediate earnings impact is rather limited for Sino Biopharmaceutical,” said Daiwa Capital Markets analyst Dennis Ip. “We are in the process of [assessing the potential upside] for it given the prospect that Sinovac’s Covid vaccine may be launched soon.”