Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading developer and provider of vaccines in China, announced that the company received the first order in China to supply its influenza A (H1N1) vaccine to the Beijing government. The initial order consists of 4 million doses and is expected to be delivered by the end of September. This order will be administered to 2 million people in the high risk group.
Additional orders are expected beginning in October and, in total, Sinovac expects to supply approximately 10 million doses to the Beijing government. The 10 million doses will be administered to 5 million people in Beijing.
On June 14, 2009, Sinovac completed construction of the H1N1 virus seed bank necessary to produce a virus antigen and commenced production of the first batch of H1N1 vaccine. Sinovac expects to complete production of the first batch by the end of July.
Weidong Yin, chairman, president and CEO of Sinovac, commented, "We are organizing and coordinating all personnel and resources to produce the H1N1 vaccine, as we have almost completed the production of our seasonal influenza vaccine. With the support and instruction of the relevant government and health authorities, Sinovac will fully utilize its proven development and production abilities from both the H5N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine to ensure the efficient production of the H1N1 vaccine. We are working closely with authorities in order to contribute to the prevention and control of the H1N1 epidemic situation."
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases.