An inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. Ltd., was approved by the National Medical Products Administration for clinical trials recently.
This is also Guangdong Province’s first COVID-19 vaccine that has obtained clinical trial approval, according to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.
The vaccine can be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections.
At the same time, the company will finish construction of a manufacturing plant for the vaccine very soon. The plant is expected to be able to produce more than 100 million doses by the end of the year.
The vaccine will also provide practical experience and technology support for Guangdong’s vaccine research, said the report.
It is reported that a total of 11 COVID-19 vaccines have entered clinical trials in the country, four of which are already in Phase 3 of clinical trials.
Three of the 11 COVID-19 vaccines are inactivated vaccines while one is adenovirus vector vaccine.
According to the World Health Organization, inactivated vaccines are made from microorganisms that have been killed through physical or chemical processes. After immunization, the vaccine antigens cannot replicate in the vaccinated person or cause disease.
Chinese scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines via five approaches – inactivated vaccines, genetic engineering subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines and vaccines using attenuated influenza virus as vectors, CGTN reported.