Riding BRI, vaccine giant seeks more cooperation with overseas partners

Chinese vaccine company Sinovac Biotech is in talks with potential partners to localize the production of its vaccines in more foreign countries, said its executives.

By localizing production through technology transfer and cooperation, Sinovac aims to achieve win-win results with foreign partners, including improving vaccine affordability and accessibility in host countries and spurring the development of the local vaccine and pharmaceutical sectors, the company said.

Yang Guang, chief business officer with Sinovac, told China Daily in an interview that the company started working on overseas market entry for its products as early as 2006.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company realized the international community had fully recognized the competitiveness of Chinese vaccines. A more important role that Chinese biotech companies like Sinovac could play is cooperating with foreign partners to localize the production of Chinese vaccines rather than exporting the products.

The company's vaccine plans involving such technology transfer and localized production cooperation mainly include those for hepatitis A, polio, influenza and COVID-19. During the post-pandemic era, many countries are still interested in obtaining COVID-19 vaccine production technology, in case of any future outbreaks, Yang said.

"In the past, we only provided vaccines. But when a pandemic comes, providing just vaccines is not enough," Yang said.

"During the pandemic, we managed to quickly establish new cooperation models with existing partners on clinical trials and localized production. The pandemic taught us that vaccine production capacity is a matter of public safety and national security. We are welcomed by leaders of foreign countries to transfer technology and cooperate on localizing vaccine production," she added.

Yin Weidong, chairman, president and CEO of Sinovac, said earlier at the recently concluded third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that the Belt and Road Initiative offers a broad platform for greater product circulation and cooperation.

Under the framework of the BRI, the company can make foreign investments, establish joint ventures, engage in research and production partnerships, and jointly develop high-quality vaccines and other biopharmaceutical products with partners, he said.

China is among the few developing countries with full industrial and supply chains for the production of a myriad of vaccines via multiple technological routes, Yang said.

Localized production of Chinese vaccines not only improves the affordability and accessibility of vaccines for partner countries but also helps to cultivate talent and enhance medicine regulation, including clinical results review and product registration, she added.

So far, Sinovac has entered into 17 technology licensing agreements for vaccine production in 12 countries, including seven countries participating in the BRI.

Its flagship vaccine, the inactivated vaccine against COVID-19, has realized localized production in five countries involved in the initiative — Indonesia, Turkiye, Egypt, Malaysia and Algeria.

In Turkiye, Sinovac and its local partner have built a formulation and packaging facility that will further enhance the country's vaccine production capacity.

Its advanced automated storage center in Egypt, which is currently the largest vaccine storage facility in Africa, will significantly boost Egypt's cold chain vaccine storage and distribution capabilities, consequently improving the vaccine supply chain across the continent.

According to the China Association for Vaccines, Chinese vaccine manufacturers have made substantial progress in strengthening their position in global vaccine value chains through transferring technologies, building overseas production sites, expanding cooperation on research and development and licensing out.

Yet, in seeking a greater global presence, Chinese vaccine makers must improve corporate governance, align with international standards, cultivate talent and build efficient cooperation networks with local partners, the report said.