BioNTech rises as China agrees to offer COVID shot to expats

U. J. Alexander

BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) added ~7% pre-market Friday after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that China agreed to offer the COVID-19 vaccine the company developed with Pfizer (PFE) for foreigners living in the country.

Even a limited authorization for use in expatriates will mark the first time China greenlights a Western-made COVID-19 shot.

“This can of course only be a first step,” Scholz told reporters after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I hope the circle of beneficiaries may soon be widened to general availability of the BioNTech vaccine.”

Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. (OTCPK:SFOSF), which has partnered with BioNTech (BNTX) for the messenger-RNA-based vaccine in China, declined to comment on the move.

The shanghai-based company said that people in mainland China can pay out of pocket and access the vaccine even now if they travel to Macau.

Inactivated vaccines from Sinopharm Group (OTCPK:SHTDF) (OTCPK:SHTDY) and Sinovac Biotech (SVA), as well as the vector-based vaccine from CanSino Biologics (OTCPK:CASBF), currently dominate the Chinese markets for COVID-19 vaccines.

Read: On Wednesday, CanSino (OTCPK:CASBF) rallied on the hopes of its inhaled COVID-19 vaccine amid speculation that China was considering a gradual reopening of the country.