Sanofi-Aventis To Expand China’s Flu Vaccine Market
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Once its Shenzhen flu vaccine production plant goes into operation in 2012, Sanofi-Aventis plans to sell 15 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine annually in China. A company official reveals that the estimate is based on projected global need of 1.3 billion vaccine doses by 2016, with China being one of the major markets. However, the country's inoculation rate stands at a mere 1.5 percent compared with 20 to 40 percent in Europe and North America. Moreover, over 60 percent of China's users opt for low-cost domestic products. Sanofi thus needs to decrease its production cost. Analysts note that without a consortium to standardize vaccine production and management locally, replicated and wasted efforts are hampering promotion and widespread usage. (Click here for more - Chinese Language)