The lack of data surrounding the efficacy of Chinese COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant has had many questioning them, especially after a recent study showed that one of those vaccines, Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Coronavac, was less effective than Pfizer Inc. and Biontech SE’s Comirnaty in Chile.
Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, Coronavac, has been approved by Chinese regulators for emergency use in children aged between 3 and 17, the company’s CEO Yin Weidong told Chinese state media on June 4. Sinovac briefly unveiled phase I/II data in the age group back in April. Chinese state media, China Central Television, said it confirmed the news with an expert from China’s State Council, though an official announcement has yet to be made. Sinovac did not immediately respond to BioWorld’s query to confirm the news.
HONG KONG – In the midst of a COVID-19 crisis, India has waived the need for “well-established” foreign vaccines to undergo local trials. That could open doors for vaccines by Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc.
HONG KONG – Following a wave of concern about the efficacy of two COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), interim analysis of an ongoing phase III trial, published May 26 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has shown that adults receiving at least one dose of either of the company’s two inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines had significantly reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19.
As infections and deaths continue to surge in some countries so does the demand for unfettered access to the technologies behind COVID-19 vaccines and other medical products. In seeking that access, several countries are stressing the need to develop their own manufacturing capacity as they look beyond the current pandemic.
PERTH, Australia – Australia’s budget theme for the 2021 to 2022 fiscal year is rebuilding the economy following COVID-19, and med-tech and biotech leaders were praising some of the new measures.
The Biden administration’s May 5 about-face on the proposed TRIPS waiver of intellectual property (IP) protections for COVID-19-related medical products is not playing well with U.S. industry, EU trading partners and others concerned about the long-term unintended consequences.
HONG KONG – The Biden administration’s support for a TRIPS waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents has already met a chorus of resistance from Western companies. In Asia, skepticism about how it would be achieved and what it will cover, is widespread.
LONDON – A large scale U.K. study looking at the impact of COVID-19 vaccinations on antibody responses and new infections in 373,402 people in the general population has shown a single dose of vaccine cut infections by 65%.