Di Yi Cai Jing·2025-11-19 14:23Core Viewpoint - The Chinese Vaccine Industry Association has issued an initiative to combat "involution" competition in the vaccine sector, aiming to promote high-quality development and establish a healthy competitive environment in the industry [1][2]. Group 1: Initiative Details - The initiative mandates all members of the Chinese Vaccine Industry Association to adhere to the Vaccine Administration Law and the Price Law of the People's Republic of China, ensuring fair and legal pricing based on production costs and market demand [1]. - Members are required to resist disorderly low-price competition and are prohibited from participating in bidding with prices below cost, thereby ensuring product and service quality standards [1][2]. Group 2: Industry Context - The association currently has over 330 member units and 35 branches, encompassing major vaccine and biological product companies, as well as upstream and downstream service providers in the biopharmaceutical industry [4]. - A price war has emerged in the public market, with significant price drops observed. For instance, the bid price for a trivalent flu vaccine from Shanghai Biological Products Research Institute was set at 5.5 yuan per dose in September, marking a new low in the public flu vaccine market [4]. - The price of a bivalent HPV vaccine from Watson Bio was reduced to 27.5 yuan per dose in a procurement project, humorously compared to the cost of a cup of milk tea [4]. Group 3: Financial Impact - The price war reflects a phenomenon of homogenized competition within the industry, leading to financial pressure on vaccine companies. In the first three quarters of this year, 10 out of 14 listed vaccine companies reported a year-on-year decline in net profit [5]. - Notably, five companies, including Zhifei Biological Products and Kanglaite, reported significant losses, totaling over 12 billion yuan for Zhifei alone [5]. - Industry insiders have expressed concerns that some companies are engaging in price wars to survive or capture market share, hoping for further national measures to address the issue of "involution" [5].