China’s 78-Cent Flu Shots Show Price Squeeze for Vaccine Makers

Chinese vaccine makers are caught in a steep downturn, as intensifying competition pushes prices lower and erodes profits, underscoring the far-reaching deflationary pressure across the world’s second-largest economy.

Two of the country’s biggest vaccine makers — Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co — posted their first nine-month losses since going public in 2010 and 2021, respectively. Meanwhile, other vaccine producers reported their weakest quarterly earnings in years, with profits plunging by 36% or more.