A leading Chinese vaccine maker said it has commenced phase-3 clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine and is planning to recruit 29,000 volunteers across the world.
This is China's first phase-3 efficacy study for a Recombinant subunit Covid-19 vaccine candidate, Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, said in a statement on Thursday.
Jointly developed by the company and the Institute of Microbiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the vaccine was issued a clinical research permit from the National Medical Products Administration on June 19.
The company said the research, which plans to enroll up to 29,000 adults aged 18 and up, was launched on Wednesday in Xiangtan County, central China's Hunan Province.
Global trials are expected to begin in Uzbekistan late this month, followed by trials in Indonesia, Pakistan and Ecuador. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing on Wednesday that five Chinese vaccine candidates are under clinical trials in countries, including the UAE, Brazil, Pakistan and Peru, and phase one and phase two clinical trials of some other vaccines are accelerated.
Researchers started phase-1 and phase-2 clinical trials on June 23, which were randomised, double-blind and placebo-controlled.