Sinovac Biotech Ltd. Receives GMP Certificate in Mexico for Seasonal Flu Vaccine and Hepatitis A Vaccine

BEIJING, Aug. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Nasdaq: SVA), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that it has obtained the GMP certificate for its seasonal flu vaccine and hepatitis A vaccine from the Mexican regulatory authority, the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS) of Mexico Ministry of Health. Sinovac is the first Chinese vaccine manufacturer to be granted GMP certificate by COFEPRIS. The GMP certification follows the onsite inspection by COFEPRIS at Sinovac’s Beijing headquarters in September 2010. The GMP certificate is effective for 30 months with an expiration date of January 12, 2014, at which time a new GMP inspection shall be applied for the renewal of GMP certificate. Laboratorios Imperiales S.A. de C.V., a biopharmaceutical company with operations in Mexico since 1935, is the exclusive distributor of Sinovac’s vaccine products in the Mexican market, pursuant to a prior distribution agreement signed in 2005 with its affiliate.

Mr. Weidong Yin, Chairman, President and CEO, stated, “We are very excited to receive the Mexican GMP certificate, which is a significant milestone as we advance our global commercialization strategy to register our vaccines. In terms of next steps, we plan to submit the additional documentations for our seasonal flu vaccine Anflu, required by COFEPRIS in order to complete the registration process. We anticipate that the Certificate of Approval for Anflu will be granted in the coming months in order to commercially launch the vaccine in Mexico. The Mexican market is regarded by Sinovac as another significant market for Anflu and Healive, outside of China. We look forward to participating in the government tender process as well as private market sales, in collaboration with our partner in Mexico.”

Yin continued, “We plan to initiate the registration process for our inactivated hepatitis A vaccine Healive in Mexico after the Certificate of Approval is granted for Anflu.”

The Certificate of Approval for PANFLU.1, Sinovac’s H1N1 pandemic influenza (swine flu) vaccine, was granted by the Secretaria de Salud, Mexico Ministry of Health, in 2009.

About Sinovac

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research, development, manufacture and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases including hepatitis A, seasonal influenza, H5N1 (bird flu) pandemic influenza and H1N1 influenza. In 2009, Sinovac was the first company worldwide to receive approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine, PANFLU.1, and has received orders from the Chinese Central Government pursuant to the government stockpiling program. The Company is developing a number of new vaccine products, including vaccines for pneumococcal conjugate, enterovirus 71 (EV71) (against hand, foot & mouth disease), mumps, rubella, HIB, epidemic meningitis, chickenpox and human rabies. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Tangshan Yian, is focusing on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of animal vaccines and has completed the field trials for an independently developed inactivated animal rabies vaccine, which is anticipated to be launched in 2011.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this press release contain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sinovac’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Sinovac does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Sinovac Biotech Ltd.