BIO CEO panelist Rajeev Venkayya argued that the huge amount of investment in COVID-19 vaccines makes it possible for new players to challenge Comirnaty and Spikevax’s dominance.

Following in the steps of Merck & Co. and GSK, Pfizer is turning to a Chinese partner to more broadly market one of its top vaccines in the country - but the US firm is going one step further.

Some of China's makers of COVID-19 antivirals are fast-tracking neutralizing antibodies and peptide fusion inhibitors in clinical trials, while vaccine developers are embroiled in a tougher situation against the mutating coronavirus.

Junshi is the latest Chinese company to announce plans to expand into Southeast Asia, where its compatriot firms are also eyeing large market potential and are set to benefit from less stringent reviews of China-only clinical data due to fewer questions around ethnic differences versus the US.