Is HPV vaccine selling crazy? In the first half of the year, Merck's revenue in the Chinese market surpassed that of AstraZeneca, ranking first in the HPV vaccine market
In recent years, AstraZeneca has been the sales champion among multinational pharmaceutical companies in the Chinese market. But in the first half of this year, this trend has changed.
According to statistics from Mi Nei Net, in the first half of this year, MSD surpassed AstraZeneca's sales of 3.04 billion US dollars with a sales revenue of 3.58 billion US dollars, becoming the largest multinational pharmaceutical company in the Chinese market with a year-on-year growth of over 45%; AstraZeneca's sales growth in China was 13%.
The surge in sales of Merck in China has been largely boosted by sales of HPV vaccines. According to Merck's financial report, global sales of Merck's HPV vaccine reached $2.5 billion in the first half of this year, a year-on-year increase of 47%, with growth in the Chinese market being the main driving factor.
Last year, the Merck 9-valent HPV vaccine was approved for extended age vaccination in China, expanding from 16-26 year old women to 9-45 years old. However, there were some difficulties in making appointments after the age was extended.
For this reason, Merck is expanding its supply of products to China, including 9-valent vaccines. This month, multiple domestic social media netizens reported that it is now easier to get imported 9-valent HPV vaccines than before. Previously, most of the 9-valent HPV vaccines were supplied in private hospitals, and now some public hospitals, including Beijing, have also begun to gradually receive Merck's 9-valent HPV vaccine.
Mosha Oriental stated that with the expansion of HPV vaccines to include male vaccination in some markets, there is still room for further income growth in the future.
From the perspective of AstraZeneca, the pressure on Chinese revenue mainly comes from the impact of medical insurance negotiations and centralized procurement on drug prices. AstraZeneca stated in its second quarter financial report that due to the inclusion in the Chinese medical insurance catalog, the increase in demand and price reduction of three anti-tumor drugs, Oxetinib, Olaparib, and Voretinib, in the Chinese market offset each other.
However, AstraZeneca has still achieved four consecutive quarters of growth in the Chinese market. In the second quarter financial report, AstraZeneca raised its sales guidance for the entire year in China, and it is expected that the Chinese market will grow at a medium to low single digit percentage.
Wang Lei, Global Executive Vice President and President of International Business and China at AstraZeneca, admitted, "In the Chinese market, we are no longer the number one multinational pharmaceutical company, learning from excellence."
At a previous investor meeting, Wang Lei remained optimistic about the sales prospects in China. He believes that several newly launched products are expected to boost the company's revenue in the future, such as the BTK inhibitor, which was first approved in China in March this year for the treatment of recurrent or refractory chronic lymphoblastic leukemia.
Last month, Aradhana Sarin, Chief Financial Officer of AstraZeneca, stated, "In the Chinese market, we are not only interested in business. Despite our good business performance, many of our global clinical research innovations actually come from China, and there are still many clinical studies being conducted in China."
Sarin also said that not only AstraZeneca, but also many peers have reached licensing agreements with local innovative pharmaceutical enterprises in China, which is not only for commercial considerations, but also to take advantage of China's innovation capabilities.
