UK’s GSK Teams Up with Shanghai Pharma to Reintroduce Hepatitis B Vaccine in China

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GlaxoSmithKline has partnered with Shanghai Pharmaceutical to bring their hepatitis B vaccine back to the Chinese market after nearly four years. The company has teamed up with SPH Kyuan Trade, a pharmaceutical import and distribution company under Shanghai Pharma, to take advantage of its well-established cold chain logistics, extensive distribution channels, and broad market reach. This collaboration aims to increase the availability of the Engerix B vaccine across China, the company announced yesterday.

Originally approved for use in Belgium almost 40 years ago, Engerix B gained approval in China in 1994. However, GSK stopped supplying the vaccine to the Chinese market in 2022 due to shifting market conditions and changes in corporate strategy.

Hepatitis B is a contagious virus that can be transmitted from mother to child, as well as through blood and sexual contact. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent the disease. China started promoting hepatitis B immunizations in 1992 and made them free for all newborns in 2005. These efforts helped lower infection rates from 9.8% in 1992 to 5.9% in 2020, according to GSK.

While the vaccination rate among newborns in China has reached 99.6%, coverage among those born before 2002 remains relatively low, ranging from 14.7% to 33.6%. The majority of infections—about 92%—occur in adults over 30 years old. GSK emphasizes that increasing vaccination rates among adults is a crucial step toward eradicating hepatitis B in the country.

China’s immunization system is shifting focus from childhood vaccination programs to lifelong coverage, but there are ongoing challenges in encouraging more adults to get vaccinated and making the process more convenient, an industry expert told Yicai.

As of 2024, GSK is the leading manufacturer in the global hepatitis B vaccine market. Its main competitors in China, North China Pharmaceutical and Kangtai Biological Products, ranked third and sixth worldwide, according to QYResearch data.