Former Billion-Dollar Vaccine Giant Wantai Biomedical Plans Change of Control: Who Will Heal the Wounds of the HPV Vaccine Battle?

What are the industry concerns behind the change of ownership at Watson Bio?

After market close on March 16, Watson Bio (300142.SZ) issued a major announcement stating that it is planning to issue A-shares to specific investors, which may lead to a change in the company’s control. To protect investors’ interests and prevent abnormal stock price fluctuations, the company has applied for a trading halt with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The stock has been suspended from trading since the market opened on March 17, with an expected duration of no more than two trading days.

Watson Bio was once a leading company in the vaccine sector. In 2020, the company successfully launched and sold its self-developed 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, making it the first domestically produced and the second globally, breaking Pfizer’s monopoly. That year, Watson Bio’s revenue and net profit attributable to the parent increased by 162.13% and 606.60%, respectively.

In August 2021, Watson Bio’s stock price reached a record high of 96.22 yuan per share, with a P/E ratio exceeding 130 times. The company’s total market value once reached 146.8 billion yuan. Now, Watson Bio’s market value has shrunk to less than 20 billion yuan, less than a fraction of its peak.

In 2022, Watson Bio continued to see growth in performance. That year, the company launched its bivalent HPV vaccine (yeast-based, bivalent HPV vaccine), which sold well amid domestic substitution trends. The company’s revenue hit a record high of 5.086 billion yuan, with net profit after non-recurring gains and losses reaching 859 million yuan, and a gross profit margin of 88.02%.

However, as more domestic HPV vaccines entered the market and price wars erupted, Watson Bio’s competitive advantage diminished. The 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine, once a major profit driver, faced competition from multiple domestic products, and its sales growth slowed. The highly anticipated 9-valent HPV vaccine also declined with the entry of competitors and overall market downturn, making it less effective in boosting the company’s performance.

Adding to the difficulties, the vaccine industry as a whole is declining starting in 2024. Watson Bio explained that the expected performance decline in 2024 was due to factors such as changes in the domestic population structure and intensified market competition, leading to a decrease in domestic sales revenue. The bidding price for its bivalent HPV vaccine has generally fallen, and factors like the extension of age limits for the 9-valent HPV vaccine and reduced willingness for self-funded vaccination have continued to pressure sales, resulting in lower revenue compared to the previous year.

According to performance forecasts from multiple vaccine companies for 2025, the industry faces intensified competition, insufficient public vaccination willingness, and overall pressure on the domestic vaccine market.

The fluctuating operational status of Watson Bio is also affected by the ongoing reduction of holdings by its founding shareholders. At the time of listing, Watson Bio had no actual controlling shareholder. The prospectus shows that the company’s founders include Yuxi Real Estate, Hongta Venture Capital, and Chang’an Venture Capital, along with 19 individuals such as Li Yunchun, Liu Junhui, Chen Erjia, Liu Hongyan, Huang Zhen, and Zhou Guochang.

Founders Li Yunchun, Chen Erjia, Liu Hongyan, and later introduced executives like Huang Zhen, Zhang Yi, and Yang Zhe are senior experts in vaccine R&D, manufacturing, and quality assurance.

Data from iFinD shows that at the time of listing, seven of these shareholders, including Li Yunchun, were among the top ten shareholders. However, in recent years, the founding shareholders have continuously reduced their holdings. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, only Liu Junhui and his concerted parties, as well as Li Yunchun and his concerted parties, remained among the top ten shareholders. Even these two have significantly decreased their holdings since the IPO, currently holding 1.81% and 1.7%, respectively. The largest shareholder is E Fund’s ChiNext ETF, with a 2.16% stake.

Shareholding structure of Watson Bio as of the end of Q3 2025, Top 10 shareholders. Source: iFinD