INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Zhifei reported net income of 1.5 billion yuan for the first six months of 2020.In the fight against the coronavirus, a vaccine trial is
almost always a boost for pharma stocks
Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co
shares have surged 80 per cent since the vaccine maker disclosed at the end of June that China's drug regulator approved clinical human
testing of a Covid-19 vaccine
With a 256 per cent rally this year, the stock is the best performer in the ChiNext Index.That's pushed the fortune of Jiang Rensheng,
Zhifei's chairman, to $19.3 billion, putting him close to entering the exclusive club of China's 10 richest people that's dominated by tech
and real estate moguls, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
His net worth more than doubled in July alone, the fastest surge among the world's 500 wealthiest people, and is up by $14.3 billion this
Jiang, 66, owns about 56 per cent of Zhifei.Wealth isn't the true measure of success, social responsibility is, Mr Jiang told students at
his alma mater in May 2019
His company sells vaccines for diseases such as the flu and meningitis and is China's sole marketer of a Merck - Co
treatment to prevent cervical cancer.Zhifei reported net income of 1.5 billion yuan for the first six months of 2020, up 30 per cent from
It said its coronavirus vaccine is going through phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.The company has produced at least another billionaire
Wu Guanjiang, a former director with an 8 per cent stake in the company, has more than doubled his fortune to $4.5 billion this year
Mr Wu left Zhifei's director board in 2015, according to a filing.Zhifei didn't respond to a request for comment.With the virus outbreak,
shares of drugmakers have been on a tear this year, lifting the wealth of their founders and chairmen
A 171 per cent rally in Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co
took Chairman Du Weimin's fortune to $5.4 billion, while his ex-wife, Yuan Liping, is now Canada's third-richest woman with $5.5
billion.Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co., whose Covid-19 test got approved by the U.S
Food and Drug Administration, has jumped 30-fold since an initial public offering in April, bringing the wealth of its chairman to $19.2
billion.In the U.S., biotech company Moderna Inc., which is working on a Covid-19 vaccine, has produced at least three billionaires,
including professors from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University
Its shares have almost quadrupled this year.While Mr Jiang's net worth rose the fastest among the world's 500 richest people in July, Jeff
Bezos, Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani all amassed more money than him
They added more than $14.5 billion each to their fortunes last month, according to the Bloomberg wealth index.(Except for the headline, this
story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
