Coronavirus: China has cheaper vaccine technologies joining the race to beat the pandemic
- Protein subunit vaccines are considered safe and cheaper than inactivated vaccines and could fill the production gap
- China considers combining vaccines or extending intervals to increase protection against Covid-19
Two of Sinopharm’s inactivated vaccines have been approved for general use and some 250 million doses have been administered in China and overseas but one senior executive believes the new vaccine candidate will have the advantage in the long run.
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“Inactivated vaccines have played an important role in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic, but they require high-level biosafety control in the production facility and manufacturing process. The cost of production and management is higher,” Zhang Yuntao, vice-president of China National Biotec Group, Sinopharm’s vaccine manufacturing arm, told China National Radio.
“Gene-based vaccines do not have such special demands and are in a more advantageous position in the long run,” Zhang said, adding it would be much easier to scale up the production of such vaccines than other types of vaccine.
There have not yet been any details about the Sinopharm vaccine candidate and preclinical data has not been disclosed, but Zhang said the candidate was designed to cover the population aged over three years and would be very safe.
“Based on a vaccine of the same technology that has been approved for [emergency] use, the candidate will be safe, just like inactivated vaccines,” Zhang said.