Vaccine sales plummet in China, posing a challenge for big pharma: GlobalData

Multinational pharmaceutical companies (MNCs) are facing significant challenges in China’s vaccine market, as regulatory scrutiny, domestic competition, and changing consumer behaviours disrupt a once-thriving sector. Major players like Merck & Co. and GSK are re-evaluating their strategies in light of these developments, says GlobalData.

GlobalData’s Q2 2025 Emerging Market Outsourcing Report reveals that Merck recently reported a 17 per cent decline in sales for its HPV vaccine, Gardasil, attributing this drop to price competition from local manufacturers and China’s ongoing anti-corruption crackdown on the healthcare sector. The company has decided to pause Gardasil sales in China until mid-2025, reflecting the mounting pressures in the market. Similarly, GSK has restructured its distribution deal for its shingles vaccine, Shingrix, indicating a need to adapt to the evolving landscape.

Additionally, the report mentions that India plans to introduce a minimum import price (MIP) for certain pharmaceutical raw materials to curb low-cost imports from China and support its domestic industry, a move that reflects a protectionist trade policy but may lead to higher input costs and challenges for generic drugmakers.

Leyla Hasanzadeh, Research Analyst, Health Economics and Market Access, comments, “This would be particularly challenging for generic drugmakers operating on thin margins.”

The Emerging Market Outsourcing Report is a quarterly analysis of news and trends affecting contract manufacturing organisations in emerging pharma markets such as China, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The report also lists the latest M&A and financing of CDMOs, expansions and investments in facilities, and manufacturing inspections.