A representative from a flu vaccine enterprise in China has told local media during the China Flu Vaccine Market Development Forum that flu vaccine companies from both home and abroad have unanimously passed a proposal for forming an industry alliance.

A representative from France-based vaccine business Sanofi Pasteur says that due to a lack of unified management with an industry association, each vaccine company is currently working on its own and they are doing almost the same thing, which is a great waste of resources and leads to inefficient promotions of flu vaccines in China.

However, some enterprises have expressed their concern about the establishment of the alliance, believing while the cooperation can help them expand the market, it can also pose some risks, for experiences from other medical alliances have told them that if the enterprises can not carry out self-discipline, the alliance will soon break up.

Traditionally, China's flu vaccine market growth has been driven by the epidemic situation, which has made the market very unstable. This year, Beijing has, for the first time, initiated a flu vaccine initiative and invested about RMB100 million to offer free or discounted flu vaccinations for its citizens. A representative from Zhejiang Tianyuan Biology Company believes Beijing's initiative pattern can bring some opportunities for flu vaccine companies and they should take hold of this opportunity to develop themselves.