Health

China’s CanSino files for authorization to market Covid-19 vaccine

Beijing, Feb 24 (efe-epa).- Chinese vaccine maker CanSino Biologics announced Wednesday that the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) is processing its request for marketing authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine in the Asian country.

In a statement sent to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CanSino said after completing the third phase of clinical trials, its vaccine has 65.28 percent efficacy in preventing all Covid-19 symptoms 28 days after vaccination and 95.47 percent efficacy in preventing serious cases after 14 days.

According to the company, the vaccine meets all the technical standards established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by Chinese regulators and approved for use in Mexico that has already received more than two million doses.

The clinical trials were conducted in Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, Chile, and Argentina with the vaccination of more than 40,000 volunteers, according to CanSino.

The serum has been jointly developed by CanSino and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology under the Academy of Military Medical Science.

On Dec.31, the Chinese authorities approved for general public distribution a homegrown coronavirus vaccine developed by a unit of the China National Biotec Group (CNBG), an affiliate of state-owned pharma giant Sinopharm, and its subsidiary, Beijing Institute of Biological Products.

In early February, another Covid-19 vaccine, developed by local company Sinovac, also received “conditional marketing approval” from the NMPA.

Sinovac said at the time that the vaccine has already been given “to tens of thousands of people in China as part of an emergency use program launched in July that targeted specific groups at high risk of infection.”

Sinopharm alone has already distributed 43 million doses of its vaccine, of which 34 million have been administered in the Asian country, whose vaccination campaign is confined, for the moment, to groups considered to be at high risk of contracting Covid-19, according to state broadcaster CCTV. EFE-EPA

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