China Biopharma’s manufacturing joint venture partner, Zhejiang Tianyuan Biopharmaceutical, won approval from the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to deliver its flu vaccine product for the first batch release of the 2006-07 influenza season. The company has already begun shipping the first lots of its flu vaccine to local Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (China CDCs) and hospitals.
According to Peter Wang, CEO of China Biopharma, the flu vaccine is the inactivated type.
“About twenty-five percent of China’s population gets the flu every year,” Wang says. “China represents the largest potential market for flu vaccine. Ten years ago, China only sold about 2,000 doses of flu vaccine. In 2005, that number increased to 25 million and in 2006, it is expected to grow to more than 30 million doses. The market is expected to increase quickly as personal affordability grows.”
