Vaccine maker Adimmune Corp (國光生技) yesterday won a government contract to provide 3.49 million quadrivalent influenza vaccines, about half of the total order for 6.99 million shots, making it the biggest winner among five bidders, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
France’s Sanofi SA landed the second-biggest contract for 1.92 million flu vaccines, followed by TTY Biopharm Co Ltd (台灣東洋藥品) with 864,630 shots and Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) with 707,420 shots, ministry data showed.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said that it adopted a “most advantageous tender” mechanism in selecting suppliers to ensure that contracts were awarded to the company that offered the best value for money.
The CDC said it had invited experts to assess the bidders’ proposals by taking into account the prices and efficacy of their vaccine, their ability to honor contracts and whether they can provide extra doses if necessary.
Adimmune’s flu vaccine is priced at NT$237 (US$7.74) each for a total contract of NT$827 million, while Sanofi’s flu vaccine is priced at NT$236 each, or NT$453 million in total, ministry data showed.
TTY Biopharm’s flu vaccine is priced at NT$232 each, or NT$209 million in total, while Medigen’s is priced at NT$236 each, or a total of NT$166 million, the data showed.
This year’s order represents an increase of 9.2 percent from last year’s 6.4 million, the data showed.
The four suppliers are to deliver the vaccines in three phases: the first batch at the end of September, the second in the middle of October and the third at the end of November, the CDC said.
Flu vaccines play a crucial role in Adimmune’s pipeline, as the company, which dominates the local market, expands overseas, adding China and Russia to its list in recent years, company data showed.
The company’s latest vaccine against enterovirus was approved for marketing in January and is to enter the market later this year, the data showed.
Adimmune’s revenue expanded 221 percent year-on-year to NT$169.71 million in the first quarter.
The government’s annual flu vaccine program provides free vaccines in two stages: from Oct. 1 — high-risk people, including those aged 65 or older, those who have chronic diseases and pre-school-age children; and from Nov. 1, people aged 50 to 64.
