With Chinese New Year around the corner, the rush is on to bring as many COVID treatments to the market as possible, given the probability of an enormous spike in infections. Among those stepping up, a Nanjing company is joining the US heavyweights.
As the many millions head home to then return again over the coming weeks, Chinese authorities are seeking to ramp up production of localised COVID treatments, with a focus on protecting high-risk groups.
Nanjing-based firm, Simcere, is among the companies preparing to produce drugs. Their SIM0417 is jointly developed with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The Global Times reported yesterday that Simcere will centre production of SIM0417 both here in Nanjing and on the southern island province of Hainan.
Dating back to 1995, Simcere operates under the slogan, “Providing today’s patients with medicines of the future”. The company, based on Xuanwu Avenue in Nanjing, has established R&D centres in both not-so-far-away Shanghai, and Boston, USA.
And also from America to the localised-COVID-drug-production merry go round in China comes Pfizer. Its famed Paxlovid will reportedly be available in the coming months.
Joint venture partner in China for Pfizer in the project is all-but confirmed to be Huahai Pharmaceutical, based in Linhai City of Zhejiang Province. Huahai announced earlier this week its dealings with Pfizer to accelerate localised Paxlovid production.
While Huahai Pharmaceutical is among the five Chinese companies which are to produce a generic version of Paxlovid for low and middle-income countries, Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla, has stated that Paxlovid for the local Chinese market would be the original version of the drug.
Founded in 1989 and today with a staff of nearly 7,000, Huahai was the first Chinese pharmaceutical company to pass US FDA certification for ready-to-market pharmaceutical products.
Finally to the fight comes another US drug giant; MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme). Their COVID treatment, molnupiravir, locally produced through licensing with Sinopharm, is said to be available for purchase in China online from today.
