经济新闻
英国葛兰素史克与上海医药携手，将乙肝疫苗重新引入中国 2026-03-26
GlaxoSmithKline has joined hands with Shanghai Pharmaceutical to reintroduce the UK pharmaceutical giant's hepatitis B vaccine to the Chinese market after nearly four years.
GSK has allied with SPH Kyuan Trade, a pharmaceutical import and distribution firm under Shanghai Pharma, to leverage its mature cold chain logistics capabilities, channel resources, and market coverage to expand the accessibility of Engerix B in China, the London-based firm announced on March 25.
Engerix B was first approved for use in Belgium nearly 40 years ago. It received the green light in China in 1994, but GSK ceased its supply to the country in 2022 due to changes in the market environment and corporate strategy adjustments.
Hepatitis B is a viral infectious disease that can be transmitted from mother to child, as well as through blood and sexual contact, with vaccination being the most effective prevention. China began promoting such jabs in 1992, making them free for all newborns in 2005, which helped reduce the population's positive rate to 5.9 percent in 2020 from 9.8 percent in 1992, according to GSK.
Although China's hepatitis B vaccination rate for newborns has reached 99.6 percent, that for people born before 2002 is only between 14.7 percent and 33.6 percent, with those over 30 years old accounting for 92 percent of infection, GSK pointed out, noting that further improving the vaccination rate among adults is an important measure to eliminate the disease in the country.
China's vaccination system is changing from focusing on immunization programs for children to full life coverage, but how to improve the willingness and convenience of adults to get vaccinated still needs to be explored, an industry insider told Yicai.
GSK was the largest manufacturer in the global hepatitis B vaccine market as of 2024, while North China Pharmaceutical and Kangtai Biological Products, its main competitors in the Asian country, ranked third and sixth in the world, according to data from QYResearch.
Source: Yicai Global
