Sinovac in China to Apply for Clinical Trial of 'Delta Variant-Specific' Vaccine in Q3

Clinical Trial Duration Expected to Be Shorter Than Existing COVID-19 Vaccines

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Sinovac, a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer, plans to apply for clinical trials of a vaccine specialized for the Delta variant in the third quarter.

According to the Chinese state-run English newspaper Global Times on the 16th, Gao Chang, CEO of Sinovac, announced that preclinical studies for an inactivated vaccine targeting the Delta variant (a vaccine platform that kills the virus and injects it as an antigen to induce an immune response in the body) have been completed.

CEO Gao stated that they plan to submit the clinical trial application for this vaccine within the third quarter of this year, and once approved, clinical research will commence.

He predicted that the preventive efficacy of the Delta variant-specific vaccine would not be inferior to that of existing vaccines against the 'original' COVID-19 virus.

Tao Lina, a vaccine expert in Shanghai who spoke to Global Times, said, "The clinical trial period for vaccines targeting COVID-19 variants will be shorter than that for existing COVID-19 vaccines," adding, "Six months should be sufficient."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.