Coronavirus: China to have 600 million doses of vaccines ‘ready for market this year’
- Scientist in charge of vaccine development says there will be ‘a major announcement’ in the next one to two weeks
- Three inactivated vaccines are in the final stage of clinical trials, but the drug makers have yet to release any phase 3 data
Wang Junzhi, from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and also deputy head of an expert task force on vaccine development under the State Council, made the remarks at a briefing in Wuhan.
“Regarding the development of Covid-19 vaccines, there will be a major news announcement in the coming one to two weeks. It’s at the final stage now,” Wang said.
“As planned, there will be 600 million doses of inactivated vaccines ready for market launch this year.”
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Inactivated vaccines use a conventional technique that involves killing off the virus in a lab and using it to trigger an immune response. Two such vaccines developed by China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and a third by Sinovac Biotech are in the final stage of clinical trials in South America, the Middle East and Asia but the drug makers have yet to release any of the phase 3 data needed for full regulatory approval.