Beijing's Sinovac Bio (NSDQ: SVA) reported Sino Biopharma (HK:1177) of Hong Kong will invest $515 million in a Sinovac subsidiary to double production of its inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac. The investment will boost production of the COVID-19 vaccine from 300 million doses annually to 600 doses. Sinovac is expected to report early results from its global Phase III test of the vaccine candidate sometime this month. After the investment, SinoBiopharm will own 15% of Sinovac Life Sciences at a valuation of  $3.5 billion.

In July, Sinovac started the Phase III trial for CoronaVac in Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and Chile. In China, the Phase I/II trials showed the candidate induced neutralizing antibodies in over 90% of volunteers who received two doses of vaccination, including adults and elderly people. Results from the China Phase I/II trial were published in Lancet Infectious Diseases on November 17, 2020.

SinoBiopharm manufactures TCM and western chemical drugs through a large number of subsidiaries.

Control of Sinovac has been a matter of long-term dispute between existing management, which wants to take the company private, and an investor group which wants control of the company and would also take the company private. It has not traded on the NASDAQ exchange for over a year and a half.

“We have made significant progress in the development of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate CoronaVac, which has reached critical milestones in clinical trials in Asia and Latin America,” said Mr. Weidong Yin, Chairman, President and CEO of Sinovac. “In addition to funding the CoronaVac, this new strategic partnership with Sino Biopharm further enables us to improve our vaccine sales capabilities, expand in Asia markets, develop and access new technologies, and most importantly, accelerate our efforts to help combat the global pandemic.”

Sinovac's product portfolio includes vaccines for:

• enterovirus71 (EV71),
  • hepatitis A and B, s
  • seasonal influenza,
  • H5N1 pandemic influenza (avian flu),
  • H1N1 influenza (swine flu),
  • varicella vaccine and
  • mumps.

The company is developing a number of new products including

• a Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine,
  • pneumococcal polysaccharides vaccine,
  • a quadrivalent influenza vaccine and
  • a SARS-CoV-2 (commonly referred to as COVID-19) vaccine.

See our other articles on Sinovac.

Disclosure: none.