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Chinese execs took firm’s Covid-19 vaccine pre-trials ‘to lead by example’
- China National Biotec Group tried its experimental vaccines on 180 executives before human trials were approved
- ‘My arm went blue from drawing blood dozens of times,’ the company’s vice-president Zhang Yuntao says
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A senior figure at a Chinese pharmaceutical company that tested Covid-19 vaccines on its own executives before human trials took place has defended the decision, saying they were “leading by example”.
China National Biotec Group (CNBG), which has two experimental vaccines in the final stage of human trials, has been under fire for trying them on 180 executives in the group and its mother company China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in March, days before the vaccines were approved for human trial.
The volunteers included Sinopharm chairman Liu Jingzhen, along with CNBG’s chairman Yang Xiaoming and vice-president Zhang Yuntao, who took shots in March.
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“We are very confident in our own vaccines,” Zhang said. “We are in charge of the vaccine development and we need to lead by example, so we tested the vaccine on our own bodies.”
06:17
‘Robust immune responses’ found in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials point to 2021 release
‘Robust immune responses’ found in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials point to 2021 release
Testing drugs on one’s employees is deemed unethical under modern pharmaceutical protocols, but sometimes in China it is considered a noble sacrifice.
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