China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (CNPGC), commonly referred to as Sinopharm, is a Chinese
state-owned enterprise. The corporation was the indirect major shareholder of publicly traded companies
Sinopharm Group (, via a 51–49 joint venture, Sinopharm Industrial Investment, with
Fosun Pharmaceutical), (, mostly via Sinopharm Group Hongkong Co., Ltd.),
Shanghai Shyndec Pharmaceutical
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
(, via a wholly owned research institute based in Shanghai), and
Beijing Tiantan Biological Products
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
(, via China National Biotec Group).
China National Pharmaceutical Group was supervised by the
.
Sinopharm was ranked 109th in the 2021
Fortune Global 500
The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by '' Fortune'' magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed o ...
list.
History
Sinopharm was founded as China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation () on November 26, 1998, as a holding company for China National Pharmaceutical Corporation, China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corporation (), China National Pharmaceutical Foreign Trade Corp. () and China National Medical Device (). In 2009 it was merged with China National Biotec Group ().
Its subsidiary Wuhan Institute of Biological Products was fined for selling 400,520 ineffective
DPT vaccine
The DPT vaccine or DTP vaccine is a class of combination vaccines against three infectious diseases in humans: diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus. The vaccine components include diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and either kil ...
s in November 2017.
COVID-19 vaccines
The Sinopharm BIBP COVID-19 vaccine, also known as BBIBP-CorV,
the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine,
or BIBP vaccine,
is one of two
inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccines developed by
Sinopharm. It completed
Phase III trials in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
(UAE) with over 60,000 participants.
BBIBP-CorV shares similar technology with
CoronaVac and
BBV152, other inactivated virus vaccines for COVID-19.
Peer-reviewed results published in
JAMA
''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bi ...
of Phase III trials in
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
and
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
showed BBIBP-CorV 78.1% effective against symptomatic cases and 100% against severe cases (21 cases in vaccinated group vs. 95 cases in placebo group).
In December 2020, the UAE previously announced interim results showing 86% efficacy.
While mRNA vaccines like the
Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and
mRNA-1273 showed higher efficacy of over 90%, those present distribution challenges for some nations as they require deep-freeze facilities and trucks. BIBP-CorV could be transported and stored at normal refrigerated temperatures.
BBIBP-CorV is being used in vaccination campaigns by certain countries in Asia,
Africa,
South America,
and Europe.
Sinopharm expects to produce one billion doses of BBIBP-CorV in 2021.
On 7 May 2021, the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...
approved the vaccine for emergency use
and Sinopharm later signed purchase agreements for 170 million doses from
COVAX
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World H ...
.
The similarly named Sinopharm WIBP COVID-19 vaccine is also an inactivated virus vaccine.
See also
*
CanSino Biologics
*
Sinovac
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Government-owned companies of China
Holding companies of China
Pharmaceutical companies of China
Companies based in Beijing
Chinese companies established in 1998
COVID-19 vaccine producers