FILE PHOTO: Chinese fax manufacturer CanSino Biologics’ sign is pictured at its building in Tianjin, China November 20, 2018. REUTERS / Stringer / File Photo
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia will soon begin Phase III clinical trials on about 5,000 people for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s CanSino Biologics Inc., a Saudi health ministry spokesman said on Sunday.
Last month, the co-founder of CanSino said the company was in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to launch a Phase III trial of the vaccine candidate, Ad5-nCOV.
The vaccine uses a harmless cold virus known as adenovirus type-5 (Ad5) to carry genetic material from the coronavirus into the body.
Researchers said last month that the CanSino vaccine, developed in conjunction with China’s military research unit, was found to be safe and induce immune responses in most subjects.
Saudi Arabia plans to test the vaccine in addition to a placebo on 5,000 volunteers and is currently on the ground in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam and Mecca, Saudi state news agency SPA said on Saturday.
No COVID-19 vaccine is approved for commercial use.
The CanSino candidate became the first in China to go for human testing in March, but other potential vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech and a unit of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) have already been approved for Phase III research in the field. abroad.
Report by Nafisa Eltahir; Written by Yousef Saba; edited by David Evans
.
