Pfizer to Cease its Vaccines Sales Operations in China

U. S. pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer said that it is planning to cease its vaccines sales operations in China. According to the company, the Chinese government was not keen on renewal of an import license for one of its products.

Pfizer said that this move will cause a shortage of the treatment in China. The company notified that the license for Prevenar has expired. Prevenar is a vaccine that protects children against pneumococcal disease that can lead to pneumonia.

"Based on a careful assessment of this situation, we have decided to cease our vaccines commercial operations in China at this time, effective immediately", Pfizer spokeswoman Trupti Wagh said in comments emailed to Reuters.

The vaccine operations will be closed instantly and it is going to affect more than 100 employees who work in the division. The majority of the colleagues will be impacted by the closure.

Pfizer has more than 8000 employees in China and it will help the affected employees to find other positions within the company. It has not been revealed that why the vaccine's license wasn't renewed. The company has many versions of the vaccine like Prevenar 7.

According to some experts, Food and Drug Administration of China lacks manpower to give approval for drugs. Regulators at China's Food and Drug Administration have not instantly commented.

In the past, China has also faced vaccine shortages and Prevenar is the only vaccine Pfizer sells in China. According to the World Health Organization, about 14.5 million cases of serious pneumococcal disease were there in 2000.