Experimental treatments continue in China as it battles with imported coronavirus cases
After approving the clinical trials of one vaccine for coronavirus, China has now given a green light to two more vaccines for early-stage human trials as the country is fighting to contain the imported cases and prevent a second wave of COVID-19. “The approvals pave the way for early-stage human trials”, Wu Yuanbin, spokesman for China’s Ministry of Science and Technology said on April 14.
The experimental vaccines are being developed by Sinovac Biotech, a Beijing-based unit, Wuhan Insitute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Last month, shortly after a US-based drug developer Moderna announced that it had begun the human trials for the vaccine developed by them with the US National Institutes of Health, Beijing approved of another vaccine for clinical trials developed by the military-backed Academy of Military Medical Sciences and biotech firm CanSino Bio.
As scientists across the world face a time crunch, Wu Yuanbin said, “vaccination of subjects during the first phase of clinical trials and the recruitment of volunteers for the second phase of clinical trials began on April 9. He also added, “It’s the world’s first novel coronavirus vaccine to initiate Phase II clinical studies.” As of April 15, the number of positive cases in China is 82,295 with 3,342 deaths.
