(Yicai Global) May 30 -- Kangtai Biological Products is teaming up with a leading Indian drugmaker to retail and distribute the Chinese vaccine maker’s 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate jab, which helps to prevent pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis, in the South Asian country as Kangtai continues to expand its global footprint.

Unit Minhai Biotech has recently penned a licensing agreement with the unnamed Indian drugmaker, which is one of the oldest and biggest pharmaceutical firms in India with 26 subsidiaries and over 2,000 distribution centers, the Shenzhen-based company said yesterday.

India became the world’s most populous country last month, and last year had the most newborns at 23 million. As a result, its vaccine market has huge potential. In India, Kangtai's partner would be well positioned to directly compete with European and US jab makers, it said.

This is the latest in a series of international deals that Kangtai has entered into recently to promote the layout of its pneumocccal vaccines overseas. Since last year, it has linked arms with partners in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries.

Kangtai is on the hunt for additional streams of income after sales of its Covid-19 vaccine plunged with the lifting of pandemic prevention measures. The company logged losses of CNY133 million (USD18.8 million) in 2022, its first financial loss since it went public in February 2017.

Unmoved by the news, Kangtai’s share price [SHE:300601] was trading down 1.8 percent at CNY27.64 (USD3.90) as of 12 noon China time today.

Editor: Kim Taylor