Fosun Pharma stock surges on prospect of Covid-19 vaccine launch in China, after German partner BioNTech’s clinical success
- ‘A victory for science, a victory for global cooperation,’ says Guo Guangchang, the billionaire chairman of majority shareholder Fosun International
- Fosun Pharma has a deal with Hong Kong-listed pharmaceutical distributor Jacobson Pharma for potentially supplying 10 million doses to Hong Kong and Macau
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. It is hoped the company will be able to launch the shot in China after going through a bridging trial.
Praising the work done by BioNTech and Pfizer, its US partner, in markets outside China, Guo Guangchang, the billionaire chairman of majority shareholder Fosun International, said Fosun Pharma was working with regulators to speed up clinical work in China to pave the way for its sale upon approval.
“This is a victory for science, a victory for global cooperation … it is a landmark moment marking the light at the end of the tunnel in our fight against the novel coronavirus,” he wrote in his microblog. “Currently, Fosun Phama is communicating with regulators, and is striving to be able to start bridging clinical trials and to launch BNT162b2 in mainland China as soon as possible, subject to regulatory approvals,” he said.
BioNTech and Pfizer’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate BNT162b2 has proven to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections, based on a global phase-three study on more than 43,500 participants that began in late July, they said in a statement late on Monday.
Fosun Pharma shares closed on Tuesday 14.2 per cent higher at HK$37.35. Fosun International, meanwhile, gained 5.4 per cent to HK$10.62.
