FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German BioNTech firm said an approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in China was still “extremely important” though predicting a conclusion of the regulatory review there, which has been months in the waiting, remained difficult.
“It is a continued dialogue with the Chinese authorities,” said Chief Commercial Officer Sean Marett, speaking at J.P. Morgan’s annual healthcare conference, which is being held virtually this year.
Any approval is “very difficult to predict,” he said, adding that “China remains extremely important to us and we are committed (to the review)”.
The company had initially guided last year that an approval in mainland China, where it collaborates with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, could come as early as July. The shot is already in use in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
For other parts of the world, BioNTech’s partner is U.S. pharma major Pfizer.
(Reporting by Ludwig Burger, editing by Kirsti Knolle)
