BEIJING, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE: SVA), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that Sinovac has received its second purchase order for its H1N1 vaccine, PANFLU.1, from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China for the national stockpiling plan. Under this purchase order, Sinovac is required to produce an additional 3 million doses of PANFLU.1 (15ug/0.5ml), Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine for the central government.
The 3 million dose purchase order announced today is in addition to the initial order for 3.3 million doses received from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China on September 4, 2009. Sinovac is expected to complete the delivery of 4.5 million doses of PANFLU.1 to the Chinese central government by the end of October.
To date, more than 100,000 citizens in Beijing have been inoculated by PANFLU.1, Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine and no severe adverse events have been reported, demonstrating the good safety profile of Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine. In the vaccination campaign initiated in China, the side effects were monitored proactively through adverse events following immunization (AEFI).
Sinovac initiated production of the H1N1 vaccine on June 15, 2009 and initiated the clinical trial on July 22. On August 17, Sinovac announced its top-line positive results of the H1N1 vaccine clinical trials, in which the vaccine showed good safety and immunogenicity profiles after one shot. Following the positive results of an experts' evaluation conference organized by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) on September 3, 2009, Sinovac obtained the production license from the SFDA for PANFLU.1, Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine.
Mr. Weidong Yin, Chairman, President and CEO of Sinovac, commented, "Sinovac is very proud to be supplying our H1N1 vaccine to the Chinese government and we are confident that we can complete the national H1N1 vaccine stockpiling task in a timely manner. We continue to work towards our goal of providing citizens of China with affordable, international-quality vaccines. Additionally, we continue to explore opportunities to expand our global reach in order to provide people throughout the world with access to our high-quality vaccines."
About Sinovac
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. Sinovac's vaccine products include Healive(R) (hepatitis A), Bilive(R) (combined hepatitis A and B), and Anflu(R) (influenza). Panflu(TM), Sinovac's pandemic influenza vaccine (H5N1), has already been approved for government stockpiling. Sinovac is developing vaccines for enterovirus 71, universal pandemic influenza, Japanese encephalitis, and human rabies. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Tangshan Yian, is conducting field trials for independently developed inactivated animal rabies vaccines.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this press release contain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sinovac's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement. Sinovac does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For more information, please contact:
Sinovac Biotech Ltd.:
Helen G. Yang
Tel: +86-10-8289-0088 x9871
Fax: +86-10-6296-6910
Email: info@sinovac.com
Investors:
Amy Glynn/Sara Pellegrino
The Ruth Group
Tel: +1-646-536-7023/7002
Email: aglynn@theruthgroup.com
spellegrino@theruthgroup.com
Media:
Janine McCargo
The Ruth Group
Tel: +1-646-536-7033
Email: jmccargo@theruthgroup.com
