CHINESE DRUG REGULATORS APPROVE SINOVAC'S BILIVE PRODUCT

The Chinese Food and Drug Administration has reportedly issued its final approval for a combined hepatitis A and B vaccine produced by local company Sinovac. Bilive is the first combined inactivated hepatitis A and B vaccine developed exclusively by Chinese researchers, and the only likely competing product, UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline's Twinrix, is unavailable in China.

Sinovac also recently announced that its Phase I clinical trials for an inactivated SARS vaccine had improved immune system responses in subjects. Meanwhile, this latest approval can be taken as emblematic of the sector's ongoing modernization, which is arguably acting as a catalyst for development. The government is actively seeking to develop treatments for chronic diseases such as SARS, HIV/AIDS and cancer, although it remains unclear whether the strategy will result in major scientific breakthroughs.