GSK agrees £2.5bn shingles vaccine deal with Chinese company Zhifei

GSK has struck a record deal with China’s largest vaccine company Zhifei for the exclusive rights to distribute the FTSE 100 company’s shingles vaccine.

The pharmaceutical giant told shareholders on Monday that the distribution agreement for Shingrix will be worth £2.5 billion over an initial three-year period from January 1, 2024.

In a statement, the London-based company said: “The partnership supports and accelerates GSK’s commitment to double global Shingrix sales and reach more than £4 billion by 2026.”

The pharmaceutical giant said the deal to sell Shingrix will be worth £2.5 billion over an initial three-year period from January 1, 2024

It added: “As part of the strategic partnership, Zhifei has granted GSK the right of first refusal to be its exclusive partner for the joint development and commercialization of an RSV vaccine for older adults in China, paving the way for the companies to become a potential partner of.” Arexvy after approval in China.’

Luke Miels, Chief Commercial Officer of GSK, said: “This partnership is consistent with our focus on products with a high and lasting level of differentiation.” “It significantly expands the number of Chinese adults who can benefit from Shingrix and includes the option to to expand the collaboration to include our novel RSV vaccine Arexvy.”

Last week, the company reported that it received another record payout after selling a stake in consumer healthcare spinoff Haleon.

The company told investors it had raised around £885.6 million by selling 270 million Haleon shares at 328 pence each, reducing its stake in the company from 10.3 per cent to around 7.4 per cent.

When GSK and Pfizer spun off Haleon in July last year, the former retained a 12.9 percent stake in the company, while the American drugmaker owned almost a third of the shares.

GSK shares rose 1.08 percent to 1,515.60 pence in early trading on Monday.