Taizhou vaccine maker seals overseas expansion deal to accelerate global reach

An influenza vaccine developed by Ab&B Bio-Tech in Taizhou. [Photo/WeChat account: hlfb0523]

Ab&B Bio-Tech, a Taizhou-based listed biopharmaceutical company, has signed an exclusive agreement for overseas expansion with Walvax Hong Kong, a wholly owned subsidiary of the leading Chinese vaccine producer Walvax.

The seven-year partnership will support the registration, sales and commercial expansion of Ab&B Bio-Tech's flagship influenza vaccine, helping accelerate its entry into emerging overseas markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Approved for market launch in January this year, Ab&B Bio-Tech's trivalent subunit influenza vaccine is currently the only of its kind in China approved for use in all people aged six months and above. The vaccine is designed to address some of the limitations of conventional split-virus influenza vaccines, particularly in terms of purity, safety and control of adverse reactions, while offering improved effectiveness.

The cooperation builds on an earlier successful partnership between the two sides. In 2024, Ab&B Bio-Tech used Walvax Hong Kong's global market channels and international resources to secure overseas access for another of its core products.

"Beyond short-term growth, we place great importance on a partner's long-term innovation capacity," a representative from Walvax Hong Kong said, saying that Ab&B's differentiated strengths and forward-looking product pipeline were key factors behind the partnership.

Ab&B Bio-Tech has continued to advance technological upgrades in both influenza and rabies vaccines, while also launching therapeutic vaccine research targeting malignant tumors. Of the company's 13 self-developed vaccines, nine have been approved for clinical trials. Among them is an mRNA monkeypox vaccine, the first of its kind in China to enter clinical trials, which was recently approved for clinical testing in the United States.