(Yicai Global) July 25 -- Shares in Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products plunged as much as 9.8 percent today after the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine maker said it is expecting first-half profit to tumble by up to 70 percent from the same period last year as its worldwide sales plummet amid a waning pandemic and stiff competition.

Kangtai's share price [SHE:300601] closed down 4.92 percent today at CNY36.32 (USD5.38). Earlier in the day it sank to CNY34.44.

Net profit for the six months ended June 30 could be as little as CNY100 million (USD14.8 million), the Shenzhen-based company said yesterday. Last year it raked in CNY337 million (USD49.9 million) on revenue of CNY1.1 billion (USD162.9 million) over the period, as Covid-19 vaccines were in high demand.

However, as the pandemic ebbs, the demand for novel coronavirus jabs has fallen dramatically both at home and abroad since the second quarter, the Shenzhen-based firm said.

Other vaccine makers also logged faltering growth. Leading US mRNA jab developer Moderna posted a 15 percent slump in revenue in the first quarter from the previous quarter to USD5.9 billion, as the sales volume and price of Covid-19 vaccines shrink.

And Cansino Biologics said in June that vaccine makers need to be objective and recognize that as the pandemic fades, the need for jabs is flattening out and there are going to be big changes in supply and demand. In other words, orders will be smaller and prices will drop, the Tianjin-based company said.

However, there is still room for differentiated vaccine research as the virus mutates quickly, Wu Ke, founder and chief executive of Wuhan BravoVax, told Yicai Global. So far, there is not a Covid-19 vaccine targeting the omicron variant that has been approved anywhere in the world. Developing new vaccines is still very necessary in order to let people return to how life was before the outbreak, he added.

By building on the experience and techniques gained from the first generation of Covid-19 vaccines, producing the next generation should cost less, Wu said.

Other Chinese firms, such as Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Walvax Biotechnology, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group and Clover Biopharmaceuticals, continue to develop new vaccines or are applying to take them to market.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor