Two Chinese pharmaceutical companies' vaccine candidates are in Phase III of clinical trials. State-owned SinoPharm launched Phase III trials in July in the United Arab Emirates. It may be on the market by the year-end, according to the company.
Private firm Sinovac Biotech also launched the third phase trials of CoronaVacin in Brazil this month.
Chairman of SinoPharm, Liu Jingzhen, said in an interview that the results of phase I and II clinical trials of its vaccine candidate came out positive with no serious side effects.
Vaccine By Year-End
He added that the vaccine "could be on the market by the end of the year," while phase III trials were likely to be completed in three months, reports the Global Times. His statement came after the World Health Organization's expert applauded researchers' progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines. However, their mass usage cannot be expected until early 2021.
Vaccine Administered to SinoPharm's Head
The firm's first and second phase of clinical trials began in April, resulting in an ideal effect of the vaccine as none experienced serious side effects, said Liu. He himself received the vaccine as part of the test on March 30.
The vaccine candidate is jointly developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under SinoPharm. They have also built P3-level production facilities for the large-scale production of vaccines, Liu added.
The vaccine candidate, according to Liu, is "leading the world in research and development, clinical trials, manufacturing facilities, and vaccine efficacy, safety, and accessibility."
At the same time, many other COVID-19 vaccines are in development. The University of Oxford in the UK reported its recent success in the second stage of vaccine trials.
Coronavirus vaccines by Imperial College London, Pfizer and Moderna are among 10 other candidates still in the second phase of clinical trials.
