Chickenpox

BEIJING--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA) (“SINOVAC” or the “Company”), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today announced that a special dividend of US$55.00 per common share, as previously announced on April 1, 2025, will be paid in cash to valid holders of SINOVAC’s common shares as of the close of business on May 23, 2025, ET. Such cash dividend is expected to be paid on or about July 9, 2025. About SINOVAC Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. SINOVAC’s product portfolio includes vaccines against COVID-19, enterovirus 71 (EV71) infected hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), hepatitis A, varicella, influenza, poliomyelitis, pneumococcal disease, etc. The COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac®, has been approved for use in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. The hepatitis A vaccine, Healive®, passed WHO prequalification requirements in 2017. The EV71 vaccine, Inlive®, is an innovative vaccine under “Category 1 Preventative Biological Products” and commercialized in China in 2016. In 2022, SINOVAC’s Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO. SINOVAC was the first company to be granted approval for its H1N1 influenza vaccine Panflu.1®, which has supplied the Chinese government's vaccination campaign and stockpiling program. The Company is also the only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, Panflu®, to the Chinese government stockpiling program. SINOVAC continually dedicates itself to new vaccine R&D, with more combination vaccine products in its pipeline, and constantly explores global market opportunities. SINOVAC plans to conduct more extensive and in-depth trade and cooperation with additional countries, and business and industry organizations. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.sinovac.com. Safe Harbor Statement This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. Such statements are based upon the Company’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including without limitation risks, uncertainties and factors related to the timing and implementation of the special dividend, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’s control, which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.

iStock, Vladimir Mandic Proquad is rarely a newsmaker from Merck’s earnings, but this time around, the U.S. has had a series of measles outbreaks. Sales of the vaccine were $539 million for the quarter, a 5% decline from the same period in 2024. Sales of Merck’s measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox vaccine Proquad dropped in the first quarter after the U.S. dipped into its six-month pediatric vaccine supply amid a handful of measles outbreaks, the company announced Thursday. Overall, Merck’s worldwide sales declined 2% to $15.5 billion compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a first quarter earnings report released Thursday morning. Also contributing to the decline is a steep drop in revenue from the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil/Gardasil 9 that continues to be impacted by supply challenges in China . Sales of the vaccine fell 41% to $1.3 billion for the quarter. While the decline was steep, Merck said it could have been worse had demand not increased in other regions, particularly in Japan, and the higher pricing in the U.S. also helped offset the losses. Merck saw a 3% decline in its pharmaceuticals business, with sales falling to $13.64 billion for the first quarter. The company said the drop was driven by vaccines, virology and immunology, but as always, cancer blockbuster Keytruda helped offset the losses with 4% worldwide growth to $7.21 billion. Even so, BMO Capital Markets said Keytruda’s sales were a rare miss for the pharma giant, landing 3% below expectations. Proquad, first approved almost 20 years ago, is rarely a newsmaker from Merck’s earnings, but this time around the U.S. has had a series of measles outbreaks that have brought the vaccine back into focus. Merck said that sales of the common childhood vaccine declined as doses were borrowed from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pediatric Vaccine Stockpile. Sales of the four-way vaccine were $539 million for the quarter, a 5% decline from the same period a year earlier. Offsetting the loss was higher sales of the M-M-R II vaccine, which provides protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Merck attributed this increase to private-sector buy-in due to measles outbreaks and higher pricing. The earnings blip for Merck comes as a measles outbreak spreads across the U.S., primarily driven by unvaccinated people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 800 confirmed cases as of April 17, across dozens of states and three deaths. There have been 10 total outbreaks in 2025 so far, compared to 16 total for all of 2024. The CDC said that 96% of the cases were in people who were unvaccinated. Meanwhile, new Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to stoke anti-vaccine sentiment, despite acknowledging in early April that a vaccine is the “most effective way” to prevent measles.

Both Merck and GSK make measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines in the U.S., crucial offerings as a measles outbreak in Texas continues. Following a second measles-related death in Texas, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, endorsed the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in a lengthy social media post—seemingly reversing some of his previous comments about vaccines and the outbreak.“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” RFK Jr. wrote on the social media website X on April 6. Both children who died during the recent measles outbreak were unvaccinated, according to Texas officials.The current outbreak is centralized in Texas, with 499 of the 642 confirmed U.S. measles cases coming from the state as of April 6, according to RFK Jr. In March, the health secretary deployed a CDC team to "bolster local and state capacity" for responding across multiple regions in Texas, supply pharmacies with MMR vaccines, and support schools and facilities with contact investigations and community outreach. CDC teams are now back in Texas at the governor's request. Measles vaccine makers are also on the case.Merck, which brought the first MMR vaccine to the U.S. in the 1970s with its M-M-R II, is “committed to providing help to support the current outbreak response efforts,” a Merck spokesperson said in a statement to Fierce Pharma. The company is focused on ensuring the availability of its vaccine for “those who need it most,” and it is “closely monitoring the situation” including outbreak trends and the potential demand for its MMR vaccine.“Based upon current known demand, there is an adequate supply of Merck’s M-M-R II vaccine to support appropriate vaccination of eligible patients,” the company representative said. “Adherence to recommended pediatric vaccination schedules and regular health visits is critical to protecting public health and mitigating outbreaks of these preventable diseases."Since the MMR vaccines were introduced, measles cases have substantially declined in the U.S. The latest outbreak has already resulted in more cases than the total reported in all of 2024, when 285 measles cases were documented. The measles spread hit a high in 2019 with 1,274 cases reported, but quickly quelled in 2020 with just 13, according to the CDC.For context, measles in the U.S. peaked at over 27,000 reported cases in 1990 before the widespread implementation of MMR vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are proven to be 97% effective against measles. Still, measles vaccination rates for young children are steadily decreasing, according to a recent report by Truveta Research. RFK Jr. has previously held a questionable stance on the MMR vaccine, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity in early March that the measles vaccine “wanes” for some people and that the measles infection itself offers “lifetime immunity.” He further noted that the MMR vaccine “causes deaths every year” and “all the illnesses that measles itself causes,” CNN reported from the Fox interview.According to the CDC, serious risks of MMR vaccination are rare. There is a “very remote chance” of the vaccine causing a severe allergic reaction, serious injury or death, the CDC points out.Along with promoting the MMR vaccine, RFK Jr. has touted alternative regimens that include aerosolized budesonite and clarithromycin. Hours after writing his recent X post, the health secretary also pointed to two “extraordinary healers” in a separate post who have “treated and health some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children” using the alternative treatment. There is currently no FDA-approved treatment or cure for measles, but vitamin A has been recommended for treating severe cases.Merck’s family of measles vaccines includes a ProQuad shot, which lumps chicken pox (varicella) protection into an MMR vaccine (MMRV). The company’s MMRV vaccine franchise brought in $2.5 billion in 2024, reflecting sales slightly up from 2023.GSK also markets Priorix, another MMR vaccine. The drugmaker brought its offering to the U.S. in 2022 after introducing it years ago in Europe, adding a key option to the country’s MMR arsenal. Priorix and M-M-R II are both recommended by the CDC’s vaccine committee for routine vaccination.