(Yicai) Dec. 6 -- Shares of Zhifei Biological Products rose after the Chinese vaccine maker and distributor said it has extended an exclusive licensing agreement to sell GSK's shingles shot in the Chinese mainland by eight years.

Zhifei [SHE: 300122] closed 4.5 percent higher at CNY30.31 (USD4.17) a share in Shenzhen today. The stock has halved in value since the end of last year.

Zhifei will extend the deal on Shingrix, the UK biopharmaceutical giant's recombinant herpes zoster vaccine, through 2034 from the end of 2026, the Chongqing-based company announced yesterday. Zhifei expects to buy CNY21.6 billion (USD3 billion) worth of the product in the six years between 2024 and 2029.

The Chinese firm partnered with GSK to exclusively import, distribute, and promote Shingrix in the Chinese mainland in October last year.

Shingrix's first-ever efficacy trial in China showed that the vaccine had an efficacy rate of up to 97 percent in adults aged 50 and above over a follow-up period of about four years, GSK said in August 2023.

Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus. Most people aged over 50 have the dormant VZV in their nervous system and are at risk of developing shingles. As they age, their immune system weakens, increasing the risk of infection and, in turn, of developing shingles.

China's population is aging, with people over 60 expected to exceed 400 million by 2035. This creates significant market opportunities for shingles vaccines in the country.

In the future, Zhifei may cooperate with GSK on more innovative jabs. In fact, in the new agreement, the parties stressed that they will actively promote the commercialization of GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus shot in the Chinese mainland for an initial period of 10 years.

GSK's RSV vaccine notched up global sales of GBP1.2 billion (USD1.5 billion) in 2023, its first year on the market. It began clinical trials in China in March.

Editor: Futura Costaglione