12 July 2021 - - China-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) has signed an advance purchase agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is on behalf of COVAX Facility, to provide up to 380m doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVacfor distribution through the COVAX Facility, the company said.

According to the APA, SINOVAC will supply 50 m doses of CoronaVac by the end of September of 2021.

In addition, Gavi has the option to purchase an additional 150m doses in 4Q21 and 180 m more doses in the first half of 2022.

In total, up to 380m doses of CoronaVac will be available to both self-financing participants of the Facility as well as those supported by the Gavi COVAX AMC.

The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization had systematically reviewed and evaluated evidence of vaccine safety and effect of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine, recommending two doses of CoronaVac for adults aged 18 and above.

Following the review by SAGE, the WHO announced its intention to authorize Sinovac's CoronaVac for Emergency Use on June 1, 2021.

On July 8, the Lancet published study results of phase 3 trial results in Turkey, showing Sinovac's CoronaVac can prevent 83.5% of symptomatic cases and 100% of fatal and hospitalized cases.

On July 7, 2021, the New England Journal of Medicine online published the results of a real-world study of Chile's mass vaccination with CoronaVac.

The results show that the vaccine has 65.9% effectiveness in protecting symptomatic cases. Its vaccine can reduce 87.5% of hospitalizations, and prevent 90.3% of serious cases and 86.3% of deaths.

This is the first time that NEJM has published the real world research results of CoronaVac in a large sample size, marking that the validity data of the company's vaccine in a real-world study recognized by international peers.

COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, is co-led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO working in partnership with UNICEF and PAHO as delivery partners, developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, the World Bank, and others.

It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both high-income and lower-income countries.

Gavi leads on procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX: designing and managing the COVAX Facility and the Gavi COVAX AMC and working with its traditional Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO, along with governments, on country readiness and delivery.

As part of this role, Gavi hosts the Office of the COVAX Facility to coordinate the operation and governance of the mechanism as a whole, holds financial and legal relationships with 193 Facility participants, and manages the COVAX Facility deals portfolio: negotiating advance purchase agreements with manufacturers of promising vaccine candidates to secure doses on behalf of all COVAX Facility participants.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation over 822m children and prevented more than 14m deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 developing countries.

The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi's work here.

SINOVAC Biotech Ltd. is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases.