China steps up inactivated COVID-19 vaccine development

China's inactivated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to finish clinical trials and get ready for the market as early as the end of this year or early next year, according to developer China National Biotec Group (CNBG).

As a subsidiary of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), CNBG has two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines under Phase-2 clinical trials and has increased its vaccine production capacity.

The company said more than 2,000 people have received the vaccines and clinical data has verified their safety and efficacy, showing that adverse reactions are far lower than other similar products.

To increase manufacturing capacity, the company has built a large production unit in Beijing that can meet high bio-safety protection requirements. The unit will be able to produce 100 to 120 million inactivated COVID-19 vaccines per year once mass production begins.

Another vaccine production facility in Wuhan is expected to be completed by the end of June or early July. Together, the two production units are expected to produce 200 million inactivated COVID-19 vaccines per year, which will help ensure adequate supply