Fosun Pharma in active talks with authorities on approval of COVID-19 BioNTech-Fosun mRNA vaccine in Chinese mainland: Co-CEO
Vials of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine are seen at the booth of Fosun BioNTech at the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Exhibition Area of the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Fosun Pharma is in active communication with health authorities on the approval of the COVID-19 BioNTech-Fosun mRNA vaccine in the Chinese mainland, a Co-CEO of Fosun International confirmed on Thursday.
Chen Qiyu, executive director and Co-CEO of Fosun International said the inoculation of the vaccine is expected to accelerate in 2022, after more than 20 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the island of the Taiwan as of end February this year.
The sales of COVID-19 BioNTech-Fosun mRNA vaccine has exceeded 1 billion yuan ($157 million), Fosun Pharma disclosed in its annual report released on Tuesday.
The company reported operating revenue of 39.01 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year growth of 28.7 percent with net profit rising 29.28 percent to 4.74 billion yuan, Fosun said in the filing.
In addressing revenue growth, Fosun Pharma said new products, such as mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine shots, cancer drugs and chronic liver treatment drugs, accounted for more than 25 percent of revenue of its pharmaceutical business during the reporting period ending December 31, 2021.
Fosun didn’t provide a breakdown of the sales figures for mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in its annual report. However, Fosun disclosed that the sales of the vaccine was above one billion yuan.
The COVID-19 mRNA vaccine named BNT162b2 was co-developed by German-based BioNTech and China's Fosun Pharma.
It has been included in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions’ inoculation campaign since March 2021 and became available on the island of Taiwan in September 2021.
By the end of February 2022, more than 20 million doses had been administered in Hong Kong, Macao and the island of Taiwan, according to the company.
The vaccine was also authorized for use or emergency use in multiple countries and regions including the US, the UK, Bahrain, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Fosun Pharma’s revenue generated from outside Chinese mainland reached 13.59 billion yuan, accounting for 34.86 percent of total turnover, the filing said.
The 2021 annual report also revealed that Fosun Pharma’s R&D investment totaled 4.97 billion yuan in 2021, up 24.28 percent from 2020.
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