Covid-19 vaccines made by China’s Sinopharm, CanSino release efficacy data
- Wuhan unit of state-owned Sinopharm, whose first vaccine was approved for general use in December, says second product has an efficacy rate of 72.5 per cent
- CanSino puts efficacy rate of its vaccine at 65 per cent, but says it is 90 per cent effective at preventing severe symptoms
The announcement by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products came after months of phase 3 clinical trials in several countries around the world. It was the first time the company had published such data, though it did not elaborate on the bare figures.
Also on Wednesday, Chinese firm CanSino said interim analysis of the results of its final-stage vaccine trials showed it to have an efficacy rate of more than 65 per cent.
Both companies are now hoping to have their vaccines approved for general use in China, having filed applications this week to the National Medical Products Administration.
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SinoVac’s vaccine was approved for general use in China this month. It was earlier found to be 50.6 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 in a trial involving health care workers in Brazil, but 91 per cent effective in a much smaller trial conducted in Turkey.
State-owned Sinopharm is looking to become the first company to have two Covid-19 vaccines approved, after its first was given the green light in December.
CanSino, which jointly developed a vaccine for Ebola, said on Wednesday that as well as the 65 per cent efficacy rate at preventing people getting Covid-19, its new product was 90 per cent effective at protecting against severe symptoms of the disease.
PLA General Chen Wei, who was one of four people honoured last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping for their outstanding contributions to the country’s Covid-19 response, began testing the CanSino vaccine on healthy volunteers in Wuhan in March.
Despite the progress made by Chinese firms in the development of Covid-19 vaccines, some foreign leaders have questioned their transparency. Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said there was “absolutely no information” about Chinese vaccines and that they were not as reliable as their Western counterparts.
Meanwhile, Europe is one of several regions around the world struggling with vaccine supply. Hungary, which is a member of the European Union bought Chinese vaccines after British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca said last month that deliveries of its product to the bloc would be delayed because of production shortfalls.
Beijing has yet to approve any vaccines made by non-Chinese companies for use within its borders.
