FAST NEWS: Clover Bio Gets Exclusive Rights for Imported Flu Vaccine

The latest: Clover Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (2197.HK) said on Monday it has reached an exclusive agreement to import Adimmune Corp.’s quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine AdimFlu-S (QIS) to China. It added it will leverage its existing commercial infrastructure and sales team to distribute the vaccine in its home market.

Looking up: The agreement also authorizes Clover to sell AdimFlu-S (QIS) in Bangladesh, Brazil and the Philippines, and the Chinese company expects to collaborate with Adimmune to develop other vaccine candidates, providing potential new revenue sources.

Take Note: While vaccination rates for Covid-19 in China are relatively high, they are much lower for influenza. According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the innoculation rate for influenza in China was only 2.46% during the 2021-2022 flu season, showing business opportunities for such vaccines are limited.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2007 and listed in Hong Kong in November 2021, Clover develops novel vaccines and biologic therapies. It has nine product candidates in areas covering Covid, influenza, rabies and oncology. The company began developing SCB-2019, a Covid vaccine candidate, in January 2020 and the product received emergency use approval in China last December. Clover launched the vaccine as a booster this month, which, combined with the latest flu vaccine, could help the company record significant new revenue this year.

Market Reaction: After opening 9.2% higher, Clover shares gave back some of those gains on Monday morning and closed up 4.6% at HK$2.73 by the midday break. The stock now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by Jony Ho

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