Taking A Shot At Sinovac

(RTTNews) - Shares of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (SVA), a China-based biopharmaceutical company, have been on the rise since July, and have gained a whopping 50% in just 3 months.

For readers who are new to Sinovac, here's a brief description about the company's business and the upcoming events to watch out for.

Sinovac is focused on developing vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. The company has commercialized vaccines for hepatitis A and B, seasonal influenza, H5N1 pandemic influenza (avian flu), H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and mumps, as well as animal rabies vaccine for canines. The vaccines are sold mainly in China and selected vaccines are exported to Mongolia, Nepal, and the Philippines.

The company's lead product candidate is EV71, a vaccine for enterovirus 71, which causes hand foot and mouth disease among children under ten years old.

In a phase III clinical trial, the company's EV71 vaccine candidate demonstrated an efficacy rate of roughly 95% against hand foot and mouth disease caused by enterovirus 71.

A new drug application for EV71 vaccine was filed by the company and was accepted for review by the Beijing Drug Administration in May of this year.

According to the company, more than 900,000 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease were reported with 156-fatality in the first half of this year. A treatment for enterovirus 71 remains a significant unmet medical need across China.

If all goes well as planned, the company expects the EV71 vaccine to be approved by the end of the year.

The company reported its Q2, 2013 results for the period ended June 30, 2013, last month.

In Q2, 2013, the company earned $1.3 million or $0.02 share on total sales of $17.5 million. This compared with a net loss of $1.6 million or $0.03 per share and revenue of $9.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The core sales, made up of hepatitis vaccines and influenza vaccines, saw a growth of 77.8% in Q2, 2013.

Looking ahead, the company expects to recognize total sales of about $20 million in the third quarter.

Sinovac began trading on the OTC Bulletin Board in October 2003 following its reverse merger with Net Force Systems Inc., an online gambling company. The stock's listing was transferred to AMEX in 2004 and to NASDAQ in 2009.

SVA has thus far recorded a 52-week low of $2.14 and a 52-week high of $6.17. The stock closed Monday's trading 7.22% higher at $6.10.