Coronavirus: Chinese vaccine giant quotes higher price for doses

Sinopharm chief says two-shot regimen will cost around US$145 and is expected to become available in December

Oxford University and AstraZeneca say their candidate will be about US$4 per dose when sold to the government

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Sinovac has not disclosed its price range for coronavirus vaccine doses. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00am, 20 Aug 2020Updated: 2:15pm, 20 Aug 2020

A Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant with two experimental Covid-19 vaccines in development has priced its doses much higher than its international competitors.

Liu Jingzhen, chairman of China National Pharmaceutical Group, or Sinopharm, was quoted by Shanghai-based Guangming Daily on Tuesday as saying that the price for a two-dose regimen of its inactivated vaccines would cost around 1,000 yuan (US$145) and would be available in December.

It is not clear if Liu was referring to the retail or wholesale price but the figure is so far the highest of those quoted so far.

Some pharmaceutical giants including AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have stuck to the traditional non-profit principles for pandemic vaccines and cited a low price for their vaccine candidates. But they are also heavily supported by the US and British governments.

Other developers including Moderna, Pfizer, and Merck have said that they expect a profit from their products.

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