https://www.scmp.com/rss/518149/feed Sinopharm is a joint venture between state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group and privately run Fosun Pharmaceutical. The company is the largest wholesaler and retailer of pharmaceuticals and medical devices in China. It produced the first Chinese vaccine against Covid-19. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Kandy Wong,Enoch Yiu Kandy Wong,Enoch Yiu China and the United Kingdom are expected to sign more business deals as the British delegation, which comprises 54 companies, heads to Shanghai from Beijing as part of Keir Starmer’s visit, the first by a UK prime minister since 2018. The UK delegation will attend a reception in Shanghai on Friday evening, according to Peter Burnett, chief executive of the China-Britain Business Council. A business forum will be held, followed by lunch on Saturday before the group departs the country. “I think... https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3341866/uk-pm-starmer-leaves-china-what-did-he-achieve-and-what-next-sino-british-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3341866/uk-pm-starmer-leaves-china-what-did-he-achieve-and-what-next-sino-british-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:02:36 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang Bi Jingquan, China’s former top food and drug regulator who received an international accolade for promoting innovation, has been expelled from the Communist Party and removed from public office on corruption charges. An investigation found that Bi had accepted gifts, money, trips and banquets and borrowed vehicles from private business owners, a statement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said on Monday. The statement also said Bi had “allowed others to pay for him,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335712/former-chief-chinas-food-and-drug-watchdog-ousted-communist-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335712/former-chief-chinas-food-and-drug-watchdog-ousted-communist-party?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:00:15 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Hong Kong stocks kicked off the week with a gain on Monday after soft economic data and declining home prices in mainland China increased bets on more forceful policy support. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.7 per cent to 24,060.99 at the close, ending a two-day decline triggered by the military strikes in the Middle East. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 1.2 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index advanced 0.3 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 per cent. Gold jeweller Chow Tai... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3314547/hong-kong-stocks-waver-chinas-mixed-economic-data-drug-companies-lead-decline?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3314547/hong-kong-stocks-waver-chinas-mixed-economic-data-drug-companies-lead-decline?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jun 2025 02:33:26 +0000 A consortium led by state-owned pharmaceuticals giant Sinopharm has revived a take-private bid for China Traditional Chinese Medicine Holdings (China-TCM), the Hong-Kong-listed drug maker said on Wednesday, valuing it at HK$23.16 billion (US$2.96 billion). China National Pharmaceutical, also known as Sinopharm, had in 2021 decided against a possible privatisation of China TCM. Sinopharm, the parent of China-TCM, already holds a 32.46 per cent stake in China-TCM and has offered to pay HK$4.6 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3252764/sinopharm-offers-take-hong-kong-listed-china-tcm-private-nearly-us3-billion-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3252764/sinopharm-offers-take-hong-kong-listed-china-tcm-private-nearly-us3-billion-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Feb 2024 01:36:21 +0000 Hong Kong stocks fell from a three-week high, led by a retreat in property developers as concerns about debt defaults overshadowed Beijing’s efforts to revive home sales and repair market confidence. Sinopharm Group slumped after becoming a benchmark index member. The Hang Seng Index slid 2.1 per cent to close at 18,456.91, after rallying 2.5 per cent on Monday to the highest level since August 11. The Tech Index dropped 2.6 per cent while the Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.7 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3233420/hong-kong-stocks-slide-china-property-default-risk-stays-focus-while-sinopharm-slides-hang-seng?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3233420/hong-kong-stocks-slide-china-property-default-risk-stays-focus-while-sinopharm-slides-hang-seng?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2023 02:51:18 +0000 Sinopharm Group will be added to the Hang Seng Index next month after the latest quarterly review of Hong Kong’s stock benchmark, while property developer Country Garden Holdings will be removed after becoming a penny stock. That will keep the number of constituents unchanged at 80, compiler Hang Seng Indexes said in a statement after the market close on Friday. The changes will be effective from September 4. The index compiler has added new constituents to the Hang Seng gauge for a second... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3231513/sinopharm-join-hang-seng-index-quarterly-review-while-country-garden-be-dropped?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3231513/sinopharm-join-hang-seng-index-quarterly-review-while-country-garden-be-dropped?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Aug 2023 13:15:28 +0000 Chinese drug maker Sinopharm said its mRNA vaccine, which targets the Omicron variant of Covid-19, has been approved for clinical trials, with facilities ready to produce up to 2 billion jabs a year. On Friday, the company posted on social media platform WeChat that its messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine had received approval the previous day from the National Medical Products Administration of China to begin trials. China’s top Covid official confirms cases at ‘low level’ ahead of Lunar... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3207596/covid-19-chinas-sinopharm-mrna-vaccine-approved-clinical-trials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3207596/covid-19-chinas-sinopharm-mrna-vaccine-approved-clinical-trials?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jan 2023 10:52:04 +0000 China has imported “hundreds of thousands” of boxes of Merck’s Covid-19 antiviral treatment molnupiravir and they could be available by the end of next week, a senior executive with Sinopharm Group said. The oral drug will be sold under the brand name Lagevrio at a cost of 1,500 yuan (US$220) for 40 pills, Tianjin’s medical purchasing centre said in a statement on Tuesday. The announcement came after China’s national health insurance authority on Sunday said Pfizer’s antiviral treatment for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3206430/coronavirus-merck-drug-could-be-available-china-end-next-week-sinopharm-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3206430/coronavirus-merck-drug-could-be-available-china-end-next-week-sinopharm-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 10:15:23 +0000 Chinese drug maker Sinopharm and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have launched the city’s first clinical trial for an Omicron-targeting vaccine, which could be ready for the public by November. The research teams revealed in a joint press conference on Tuesday that out of 500 Hongkongers recruited for the trial, 100 had already received the vaccine, but also urged more residents to sign up. “The Omicron variant has been shown to have a vaccine escape ability, which can undermine the efficacy... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3179903/university-hong-kong-sinopharm-launch-citys-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3179903/university-hong-kong-sinopharm-launch-citys-first?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 May 2022 12:27:30 +0000 Immunity wanes six months after three doses of the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine are given, but a fourth shot will not provide more protection against the Omicron strain, a study has found. Researchers from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou said their study suggested that “urgent use” of inactivated vaccines – like the Sinopharm one – as a fourth booster shot against variants of concern such as Omicron was “feasible but not ideal”. Recombinant spike protein or mRNA vaccines based on the variants... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3168133/coronavirus-fourth-shot-sinopharm-vaccine-wont-boost-protection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3168133/coronavirus-fourth-shot-sinopharm-vaccine-wont-boost-protection?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Feb 2022 03:00:26 +0000 South Africa’s health regulator has registered the Sinopharm Covid-19 shot, clearing the way for the Chinese vaccine’s use for adults in the country. “This authorisation is based on acceptable safety, quality and efficacy data submitted by MC Pharma Pty (Ltd)” over the period from July to December, according to a statement from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority, or Sahpra. The inactivated vaccine – imported by MC Pharma in South Africa – was developed by Sinopharm and the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3166141/coronavirus-south-african-health-regulator-registers-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3166141/coronavirus-south-african-health-regulator-registers-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 23:00:31 +0000 A protein-based Covid-19 booster vaccine made by Sinopharm elicited a stronger antibody response against the Omicron variant when given as a booster after two doses of an earlier shot from the Chinese firm than a third dose of the original, a study showed. The study which was published on Tuesday and had not been peer reviewed, came amid concerns over the effectiveness of Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV shot, one of the two leading Covid-19 vaccines exported by China, against the Omicron variant. An... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3162605/sinopharm-protein-based-booster-stronger-against-omicron-earlier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3162605/sinopharm-protein-based-booster-stronger-against-omicron-earlier?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jan 2022 12:43:33 +0000 China’s widely used Sinopharm and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines will give some protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death from the Omicron variant despite declines in protective antibodies, a WHO official said on Tuesday. The assessment from World Health Organization incident manager Abdi Mahamud came just days after several preliminary laboratory studies indicated that three doses of Sinovac did not produce enough antibodies to prevent infection from the new variant. In one study,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3162208/omicron-good-signs-sinopharm-and-sinovac-shots-fend-severe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3162208/omicron-good-signs-sinopharm-and-sinovac-shots-fend-severe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jan 2022 07:24:51 +0000 A Covid-19 vaccine booster shot by China’s Sinopharm showed significantly weaker neutralising activity against the Omicron variant than for an older coronavirus strain from Wuhan, Chinese researchers found. Researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Institute of Respiratory Diseases said that they had assessed samples from 292 health care workers given a third shot eight to nine months after their second, in a study published on Saturday on preprint server medRxiv. The study, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3160460/covid-19-booster-chinas-sinopharm-weaker-against-omicron-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3160460/covid-19-booster-chinas-sinopharm-weaker-against-omicron-study?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2021 13:34:39 +0000 The Omicron variant of the coronavirus evades immunity offered by an inactivated Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm, a lab study has found. Researchers from the University of Washington and Swiss antibody therapeutics company Humabs BioMed investigated how the Omicron variant might escape immunity from past infections or vaccination by comparing the performance of plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients and people vaccinated with six major Covid-19 vaccines. They tested how the plasma... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3159979/omicron-two-doses-sinopharm-vaccine-offers-weak-protection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3159979/omicron-two-doses-sinopharm-vaccine-offers-weak-protection?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Dec 2021 23:00:12 +0000 An extra Covid-19 vaccine shot should be offered to people aged 60 and above immunised with Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm doses, a WHO advisory group said on Monday. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) also said a third shot should be given to moderately and severely immunocompromised people vaccinated with any World Health Organization-authorised vaccine. SAGE announced its recommendations following a review last week of data gathered since the WHO approved a handful... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3152068/who-group-backs-third-shot-elderly-vaccinated-sinovac-or?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3152068/who-group-backs-third-shot-elderly-vaccinated-sinovac-or?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:00:20 +0000 One of China’s leading vaccine makers has published new data that suggests its Covid-19 jab can safely be given to children as young as three. The data was released at a time when a fresh outbreak involving kindergarten and primary school pupils has raised the question of when vaccinations will be expanded to cover this age group. Data from phase one and two clinical trials published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases this week showed that a vaccine developed by Sinopharm’s Beijing Institute of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3149159/chinese-covid-19-vaccines-sinopharm-safe-children-young-3-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3149159/chinese-covid-19-vaccines-sinopharm-safe-children-young-3-says?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Sep 2021 10:00:24 +0000 Drug maker Sinopharm says it is developing an updated version of its Covid-19 vaccine to protect against the Delta and Beta variants, and that clinical trials of a booster shot are under way. In a statement, Zhang Yuntao, vice-president of Sinopharm unit China National Biotec Group (CNBG), said the company was working on inactivated vaccines for the strains and data was being provided to the drug regulator. The highly transmissible Delta variant was first identified in India and has become the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3146361/coronavirus-sinopharms-twin-approach-variants-aims-improved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3146361/coronavirus-sinopharms-twin-approach-variants-aims-improved?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Aug 2021 12:00:29 +0000 A Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s state-owned Sinopharm has been approved for children as young as three by the United Arab Emirates. “[The Ministry of Health and Prevention] announced the provision of Sinopharm vaccine for the age group 3 – 17,” the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority tweeted on Monday. “The decision comes after clinical trials and extensive evaluations and is based on the emergency use authorisation and local evaluations which are in line... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3143534/uae-approves-use-chinas-sinopharm-vaccine-children-aged-3-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3143534/uae-approves-use-chinas-sinopharm-vaccine-children-aged-3-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Aug 2021 12:09:56 +0000 Dang Duong, a 42-year-old restaurant owner in Ho Chi Minh City, is hoping everyone in Vietnam will be able to get vaccinated against Covid-19 soon. Her business has been struggling without its main clientele of foreign residents and tourists since March, when the country shut its borders to keep out imported cases. While Vietnam has mostly managed to avoid a mass crisis, new outbreaks since April have contributed to more than half its total caseload of over 8,000, and the country is also dealing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136137/coronavirus-vietnam-approves-sinopharms-vaccine-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3136137/coronavirus-vietnam-approves-sinopharms-vaccine-will?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jun 2021 04:30:18 +0000 The Chinese drug maker Sinopharm has finally published the interim results from a phase 3 trial of its Covid-19 vaccine after more than 200 million doses have been administered worldwide. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday, has finally answered scientists’ calls for greater transparency, but the results do not cover some of the most vulnerable groups. Trial data shows a vaccine made by Sinopharm’s Beijing subsidiary, which has been approved by... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3135067/chinese-drug-firm-sinopharm-finally-publishes-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3135067/chinese-drug-firm-sinopharm-finally-publishes-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 May 2021 10:14:31 +0000 The immunity induced by Chinese firm Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine has been brought into question after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said they would provide booster shots to people who completed the two-dose regimen six months ago. Some experts say the offer suggests the vaccine is producing a weak immune response, which can be boosted, but better with a different product, rather than a third dose of the same one. “As part of the UAE’s proactive strategy to provide maximum protection for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3134084/immunity-induced-sinopharm-jab-questioned-after-uae-offers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3134084/immunity-induced-sinopharm-jab-questioned-after-uae-offers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 May 2021 12:00:13 +0000 The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday it will offer a third shot to recipients of the Chinese state-backed Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine six months after their initial two-dose regimen. The move appears to make the UAE the first country worldwide to formally introduce the booster. The brief statement comes after some residents in the UAE reported receiving a third shot amid concerns about an insufficient antibody response. China’s top disease control official acknowledged last month that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3133977/coronavirus-uae-offer-third-dose-recipients-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3133977/coronavirus-uae-offer-third-dose-recipients-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 May 2021 20:02:32 +0000 May 7, 2021 will be seen as a milestone for China’s vaccine industry in the history of public health. That was the date the World Health Organization added a vaccine made by China’s Sinopharm to its emergency use listing for the Covid-19 pandemic. The development is historic given that the Sinopharm product is the first solely from a developing country to be included in a globally recommended treatment mechanism for dealing with an ongoing infectious disease. The five products already on the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133045/whos-sinopharm-approval-opens-door-distributing-chinese-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3133045/whos-sinopharm-approval-opens-door-distributing-chinese-vaccines?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 May 2021 19:30:07 +0000 The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use worldwide, as many countries struggle for access in the face of export curbs and production shortfalls. The WHO on Friday said a Covid-19 vaccine by state-owned Sinopharm met the criteria for emergency use, giving it a globally recognised stamp of approval that will enable it be included in the UN body’s global vaccine distribution programme. “The addition of this vaccine has the potential... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3132722/who-gives-emergency-approval-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3132722/who-gives-emergency-approval-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 May 2021 15:31:57 +0000 Indonesia’s drug regulator on Friday approved the Covid-19 vaccine of China’s Sinopharm, which it will use in a private immunisation scheme where companies buy government-procured vaccines to inoculate their staff. After Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca, Sinopharm is the third company to have its vaccine approved by Indonesia, which is seeking to inoculate 181.5 million people by January 2022. It has suffered one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia, with 1.66 million infections and more than... https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/asia/article/3131805/coronavirus-indonesia-approves-sinopharm-vaccine-emergency-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/coronavirus/asia/article/3131805/coronavirus-indonesia-approves-sinopharm-vaccine-emergency-use?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Apr 2021 10:18:38 +0000 The United Arab Emirates will become the first country to produce China’s Sinopharm vaccine abroad in a deal that deepens Beijing’s influence in the Gulf, long a bastion of US power. Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries PSC said on Sunday it signed a contract to start manufacturing the vaccine from April, making UAE the first Gulf state to set up a coronavirus vaccine production facility and boosting its efforts to become a supply hub to the Middle East and beyond. The agreement with Abu Dhabi’s G42... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3127359/china-picks-uae-sinopharms-middle-east-production-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3127359/china-picks-uae-sinopharms-middle-east-production-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Mar 2021 14:55:22 +0000 Sinopharm Holding was ready to deliver the Covid-19 vaccines needed to meet Beijing’s target of more than 500 million vaccinations by June this year, its president said. The Hong Kong-listed unit of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), the country’s largest distributor and retailer of pharmaceutical products, also revealed a 13.9 per cent jump in profit for 2020 during a teleconference. “As the country’s top company in operating cold-chain logistics for pharmaceutical... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3126642/hong-kong-listed-sinopharm-reports-jump-2020-profit-says-ready?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3126642/hong-kong-listed-sinopharm-reports-jump-2020-profit-says-ready?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Mar 2021 10:00:14 +0000 Pakistan on Wednesday received a Chinese donation of 500,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine, bringing the country’s total supply to 1 million shots, Health Minister Faisal Sultan said. The South Asian nation of 220 million people launched Covid-19 vaccinations for the public on March 10, starting with older people. Health workers started receiving shots in early February. “These 500,000 doses will ensure smooth continuation of our vaccine drive, currently under way for senior citizens,” Sultan said... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3125753/coronavirus-australia-seeks-1-million-vaccine-shots-png?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3125753/coronavirus-australia-seeks-1-million-vaccine-shots-png?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Mar 2021 04:25:05 +0000 The Covid-19 vaccine made by Chinese firm Sinopharm’s Wuhan subsidiary has a 72.5 per cent efficacy rate, the company said on Wednesday. The announcement by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products came after months of phase 3 clinical trials in several countries around the world. It was the first time the company had published such data, though it did not elaborate on the bare figures. Also on Wednesday, Chinese firm CanSino said interim analysis of the results of its final-stage vaccine... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3122980/covid-19-vaccines-made-chinas-sinopharm-cansino-release-efficacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3122980/covid-19-vaccines-made-chinas-sinopharm-cansino-release-efficacy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:01:00 +0000 Hungary cannot yet ease its partial coronavirus lockdown as a third wave of infections has boosted new cases and only a small section of the population has received a vaccine so far, the prime minister said. Hungary became the first European Union country on Wednesday to start inoculating people with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, following a similar move with Russia’s Sputnik V shot, which have not been granted regulatory approval in the EU. “This is an important day as we begin inoculations... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3122978/hungary-starts-using-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccine-eu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3122978/hungary-starts-using-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccine-eu?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Feb 2021 12:47:14 +0000 Just two months after its first coronavirus vaccine was approved for general use, Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm is applying for similar regulatory approval for a second, with plans for clinical trials for a third, group chairman Liu Jingzhen said. The second vaccine was developed by Sinopharm subsidiary the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, and has been in phase 3 clinical trials in various countries since June. The first vaccine was developed by the Beijing Institute of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3122658/coronavirus-chinas-sinopharm-seeks-general-use-green-light?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3122658/coronavirus-chinas-sinopharm-seeks-general-use-green-light?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Feb 2021 13:30:15 +0000 Hungary on Tuesday became the first EU country to receive China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine as an initial batch of 550,000 doses arrived in Budapest, the government announced. The vaccines – enough to protect 275,000 people against Covid-19 – were flown in aboard a Hungarian government plane which had left for Beijing on Monday and returned home at midday on Tuesday. “This is an important day for Hungary,” Tamas Menczer, secretary of state for foreign affairs in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3121940/eu-first-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccines-arrive-hungary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3121940/eu-first-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus-vaccines-arrive-hungary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Feb 2021 14:23:21 +0000 A plane carrying Zimbabwe’s first coronavirus vaccines, 200,000 doses donated by China, arrived in the capital Harare on Monday. A further 600,000 doses from China are set to arrive in early March, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said last week. It is unclear how much the cash-strapped southern African nation will pay for the second batch of the vaccines from China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, head of the delegation receiving... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3121787/chinese-vaccines-reach-zimbabwe-it-receives-its-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3121787/chinese-vaccines-reach-zimbabwe-it-receives-its-first?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Feb 2021 08:41:58 +0000 Peru’s Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete on Sunday resigned amid an uproar over government officials being secretly vaccinated against the coronavirus before the country recently received doses from China’s Sinopharm for health workers facing a resurgence in the pandemic. Just a day earlier, President Francisco Sagasti said he accepted the resignation of Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti due to a scandal over former president Martin Vizcarra having also received an early vaccination. Vizcarra, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3121745/peru-covid-19-vaccine-scandal-foreign-and-health-ministers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3121745/peru-covid-19-vaccine-scandal-foreign-and-health-ministers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Feb 2021 03:41:47 +0000 Hungary’s medicine and food safety regulator on Friday approved China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, making it the first country in the European Union to do so. The decision followed a government decree on Thursday that streamlined Hungary’s vaccine approval procedure. Any vaccine that has been administered to at least one million people worldwide may now be approved for use in Hungary – without being assessed by the country’s medicines regulator. “Today, the National Institute... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3119868/coronavirus-hungary-first-eu-country-approve-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3119868/coronavirus-hungary-first-eu-country-approve-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Jan 2021 17:41:14 +0000 Coronavirus vaccines developed by Chinese firms Sinovac and Sinopharm are being reviewed for emergency use by the World Health Organization, potentially opening the door to their increased international acceptance. The UN agency is also in contact with another Chinese vaccine developer, CanSino, whose jab is undergoing phase 3 trials, it said. The WHO’s advisory group makes recommendations about whether, how and for whom vaccines should be used. Its “emergency use listing” procedure allows... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3119515/chinas-sinopharm-sinovac-covid-19-vaccines-assessed-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3119515/chinas-sinopharm-sinovac-covid-19-vaccines-assessed-who?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:40:36 +0000 The lockdown of another Hong Kong neighbourhood for mandatory Covid-19 testing came to an end at 6am on Wednesday as the city continued to target areas filled with ageing tenement buildings amid a recent surge in infections. The sudden lockdown on Tuesday night came just hours after the city’s leader revealed she had sought Beijing’s help in securing Covid-19 shots from state-owned Sinopharm following “hiccups” in the procurement of other vaccines already purchased by the government. One... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3119242/carrie-lam-asks-beijings-help-securing-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3119242/carrie-lam-asks-beijings-help-securing-covid-19-vaccine?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jan 2021 03:46:42 +0000 Egypt began its Covid-19 immunisation programme on Sunday, becoming one of the first countries in Africa to vaccinate its citizens, with a doctor and a nurse receiving the Chinese-made Sinopharm jab. Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country with over 100 million people, received its first batch of the vaccine in December. The inoculation will be available to all health workers for free, Health Minister Hala Zayed said Sunday. “All healthcare workers will receive it for free, it’s their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3119056/coronavirus-egypt-launches-programme-using-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3119056/coronavirus-egypt-launches-programme-using-chinas-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jan 2021 20:46:06 +0000 Jordan said on Saturday it has approved China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, after giving the Pfizer-BioNTech jab the green light. “Emergency use of the … Sinopharm vaccine against the novel coronavirus has been authorised,” the head of the Jordanian Food and Drug administration, Nizar Mheidat, told state television. “It is the second vaccine available for use in Jordan, after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine,” which Jordan approved in December, he told Al-Mamlaka... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3117084/jordan-approves-emergency-use-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3117084/jordan-approves-emergency-use-chinas-sinopharm-coronavirus?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jan 2021 17:00:27 +0000 China can produce 1 billion doses this year of the newly approved vaccine against Covid 19 developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of the state-owned conglomerate Sinopharm, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information. The ministry also said on Tuesday that there would be enough vaccines for mass inoculation domestically, though it did not specify how many doses it is expecting. Eighteen vaccine makers in China are ramping up production capacity, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3116562/coronavirus-china-says-it-can-produce-1-billion-doses-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3116562/coronavirus-china-says-it-can-produce-1-billion-doses-sinopharm?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:30:14 +0000