CanSinoBIO’s mRNA COVID vaccine candidate cleared for trials in China

FILE PHOTO: A logo of China’s vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc is pictured on the company’s headquarters in Tianjin, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), China August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

BEIJING — Chinese vaccine developer CanSino Biologics Inc (CanSinoBIO) said on Monday its potential COVID-19 vaccine using the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology has been approved by China’s medical products regulator to enter clinical trials.

Unlike other major countries, China is yet to approve any foreign-made mRNA vaccines such as that produced by U.S.-German duo Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE.

With around 88% of its 1.4 billion population already vaccinated, China is trailing several domestically developed mRNA vaccine candidates, including one candidate that is being tested in a large, Phase 3 clinical trial.

CanSinoBIO said in a press release that studies before clinical trials had showed the candidate can elicit high-level neutralizing antibodies against multiple variants, including Omicron.

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited said on Sunday that its potential mRNA COVID vaccine SYS6006 was cleared by China’s National Medical Products Administration to conduct clinical trials.

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