The Fosun Group is looking to make another major leap in the healthcare industry as it prepares to deliver locally-made surgical robots to hospitals.

Long queues of mainland Chinese nationals looking to receive the mRNA vaccine have been seen outside Hong Kong clinics following a re-opening of the border.

A sale of Hyderabad-based Gland, which specialises in injectable drugs such as antibiotics, oncology and cardiology treatments, will help Fosun raise cash and shore up its balance sheet.

Fosun International has sold some of its peripheral assets to raise almost US$100 million in cash in recent weeks, as credit rating cuts heighten concerns about the conglomerate’s financial strength.

Remarks by Vice-Premier Liu He suggest vaccine development remains on the agenda for China, with clinical trials of a home-grown Omicron jab having started in Zhejiang.

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group is looking into which of its existing plants can be used to manufacture generic versions of Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir, which is sold under the Paxlovid brand name, and Merck’s molnupiravir.

The five Chinese drug makers were among 35 firms to sign non-exclusive sublicensing agreements with the United Nations-backed MPP.

Chinese vaccine producers stand to benefit from a move to speed up jabs for the nation’s 1.4 billion population, as well a sudden surge in infections across Asia, adding to a market-beating rally this year, analysts said.

Yuyuan’s shares rose by the daily limit of 10 per cent to 13.08 yuan on Thursday amid speculation that its aviation investment company would target Hainan Airlines.

The Fosun unit will contribute up to US$100 million of assets including cash and a manufacturing facility, while BioNTech will chip in the licence and know-how.

The country’s pharmaceutical industry is expanding its production capacity as it gears up to produce 5 billion doses by the end of next year.

Fosun Pharma seeks to expand its global sales by tapping merger and acquisition opportunities and launching innovative drugs in more overseas markets, CEO says in an interview.

Hong Kong’s health officials last Wednesday abruptly stopped the city’s BioNTech vaccination roll-out on the advice of the vaccine’s supplier, after the scheme’s frontline staff identified 50 defects in the first batch numbered “210102”.

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.

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is said to be rushing cold-storage facilities to prepare for possible deployment of BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine in China from next month.

China is poised to have a mix of foreign and domestic vaccine stocks for its battle against the pandemic.

The Hang Seng Index slipped 0.4 per cent to 26,389.52 on Monday, after a decline of 1.2 per cent last week. The Shanghai Composite Index, however, rose 0.7 per cent, after its biggest weekly decline last week in more than two months.

Major logistics companies across the world are gearing up to transport the vaccines, which are more fragile than regular shots. The historic urgency and volumes involved pose an unprecedented challenge for these firms.

The shares of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) surged by as much as 20.8 per cent on Tuesday after the success of German partner BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine during clinical trials.

The world could start to see the effect of vaccinations on the coronavirus pandemic by the second quarter if medicines are approved early next year, says CEO of BioNTech.

Chinese doctor working with German company says global collaboration as much as science will lead to Covid-19 vaccine.

China’s biotechnology M&A transactions have almost doubled this year, while public stock offerings surged as investors scour for opportunities amid a global rush to develop a cure for Covid-19 disease.

Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Henlius Biotech, which developed China’s first monoclonal antibodies biosimilar product last year for cancer treatment, is edging closer to a listing on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style Star Market.

Fosun earlier obtained the licence from Mainz-based BioNTech to exclusively develop and commercialise its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine products in China.

144 participants in mainland China will receive two shots of the BNT162b1 coronavirus vaccine candidate spaced by 21 days.

Fosun Pharmaceutical CEO Wu Yifang says the company hopes to begin clinical trial on the vaccine soon and is in close contact with China’s medical watchdog.

Fosun, which invested 500 million yuan in Cainiao in 2013, is looking to lock in a profit on its early investment, and redeploy its gains in the health care and consumer industries, according to a person familiar with its plans.

In the second of a five-part series on China’s health care system, Eric Ng looks at how technological innovations – smartphone applications, 5G, big data, artificial intelligence – are coming together to help in the battle with the country’s worst public health crisis in two decades.

Fosun has announced one of its biggest executive reshuffles in three years after a slew of acquisitions overseas, strengthening its top management just as the Chinese economy is growing at the slowest pace since 1990.