China promises to sell Covid-19 vaccines at ‘fair and reasonable’ price around the world
- Head of country’s vaccine task force says poor countries will be given financial help to buy drugs that will prove to be a ‘global public good’
- Executive from state-owned drug maker Sinopharm offers safety assurances and says ‘several dozen countries’ are interested in firm’s vaccine
China has promised that its Covid-19 vaccines will be sold around the world at a “fair and reasonable” price, with help available for developing countries.
Health officials and executives from pharmaceutical companies also vouched for the safety record so far of Chinese-made vaccines at a press conference on Tuesday.
China is a leader in Covid-19 vaccine development, producing four of the 11 candidate vaccines that are undergoing stage three clinical trials, including one from state-owned Sinopharm.
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China promises its Covid-19 vaccines will be available worldwide at a ‘fair and reasonable’ price
Despite concerns over the quality of the country’s vaccines due to high-profile safety scandals in the past, Sinopharm chairman Liu Jingzhen, told the event that “several dozen countries” had expressed interest in the company’s products.
“When Chinese vaccines are successfully developed and launched, they will become a global public good. Therefore, when we are offering vaccines globally, we will also set a fair and reasonable price,” said Zheng Zhongwei, who heads the National Health Commission’s vaccine development task force.
“For underdeveloped or developing countries, we will provide assistance to those countries to help achieve accessibility and affordability of Covid-19 vaccines.”
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Zheng said that companies had the right to set their own prices, but should consider setting a price based on manufacturing cost rather than market forces.
However, he warned that some types of vaccines – such as inactivated ones that use pathogens from the virus – will need biosecure manufacturing facilities and that will push the cost up.
President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said that Chinese-made vaccines will be a “global public good” without explaining what this means.
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But Zheng’s comments suggest this means they will be on sale globally, with financial help on offer to countries that would otherwise struggle to pay for them.
In July, Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged US$1 billion in loans to Latin America and the Caribbean to secure access to its Covid-19 vaccines.
Meanwhile Pakistan and Indonesia, which are hosting vaccine trials, will get preferential pricing and supply as part of the deal.
Sinopharm’s Liu also offered assurances over the safety of Chinese vaccines, saying there have been only mild reactions reported among the 50,000 stage three trial participants.
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Two other major vaccine trials – by AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson – were suspended after a participant in each became seriously ill.
Liu was asked about the safety of large-scale trials and replied that Sinopharm’s trial had only seen side effects such as mild fevers, pain and swelling, adding that such symptoms were common.
