Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group announced it will buy at least 100 million doses of vaccine from BioNTech next year if it is approved by the regulator.

BioNTech developed its mRNA vaccine through a partnership with US company Pfizer, and the company also partnered with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (commonly known as Fosun Pharma) to develop and distribute in China.

The doses provided under the BioNTech and Fosun Pharma agreement will initially come from German BioNTech production facilities, the two companies said today.

"We are delighted to reach a supply agreement with BioNTech, which is an important step in the efforts of Fosun Pharma and BioNTech to achieve the goal of an accessible and affordable vaccine in China," said the president.

To meet Chinese regulatory requirements, the two companies launched their second-stage clinical trial in China last month with 960 people.

China has allowed emergency use of a number of vaccine candidates developed by the domestic company since July, before completing a final-stage test.

The announcement by Fosun Pharma and BioNTech comes as the first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been injected in the US, UK and Canada in recent days, after being licensed by their regulators.