Advertisement

Fosun Pharma rushes logistics plan for possible BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine deployment from January

  • Fosun technicians have been trial-testing almost 100 ultra-low temperature freezers at a facility in Shanghai, according to a Caixin.com report
  • BioNTech has committed to supply at least 100 million doses to Fosun Pharma in 2021, enough for 50 million people

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A company logo at the headquarters of Shanghai Fosun Pharma Group. The firm has made advanced plan to prepare for possible deployment of BioNTech vaccine from as early as January 2021. Photo: Reuters
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical is pulling out all the stops to build cold-storage facilities ahead of the possible deployment of BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine in China from as early as next month, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Advertisement

The firm, the sole marketing partner in China for the German company, has made “advanced preparation” to ensure the facilities are ready when the vaccine is approved, the person said, asking not to be identified due to the confidential nature of the planning.

“China never had such a big need for ultra-low temperature storage facilities for vaccines [before the Covid-19 pandemic] because they were primarily inactivated that can be stored at normal fridges,” the person said. With Covid-19, special storage facilities need to be procured and installed, the person added.
BioNTech’s vaccine is based on the mRNA technology that has never been commercialised as a medicine before Covid-19. Its doses need to be stored at minus 75 degrees Celsius during transportation, compared to 2-8 degrees for inactivated vaccines.

02:38

Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developer Fosun Pharma optimistic about progress on mRNA jab

Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developer Fosun Pharma optimistic about progress on mRNA jab

The jab has been approved for mass vaccination in Europe, North America and Singapore. It is currently undergoing a “bridging” clinical trial in mainland China. A bridging trial is much smaller in scale than a full-fledged trial required for a new drug before approval.

Advertisement
Advertisement