BRIEF—China approves generic Cervarix

The New Drug Application (NDA) for China's first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Called Cecolin, it is a generic version of UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix, which was approved in China in 2016.

In September 2016, the Chinese company Xiamen Innovax Biotech signed an agreement with GSK to develop this next generation HPV vaccine.

Innovax is expecting an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in Shanghai to raise 380 million renminbi ($54.5 million), about half of which will be used for improving the HPV vaccine manufacturing process and global commercialization of Cecolin.