HONG KONG: China’s CanSino Biologics Inc said on Sunday that its recently developed Covid-19 vaccine has been approved by the country’s drug regulator for emergency use as a booster, potentially benefiting its business.

The inhaled version of Cansino’s adenovirus-vectored Covid-19 vaccine has obtained the green light from the National Medical Products Administration, the company said in a filing on Sunday.

“The approval will have a positive impact on the company’s performance if the vaccine is subsequently purchased and used by relevant government agencies,” CanSino said.

The company cautioned, however, that it will face fierce competition from other vaccines in China that have also obtained government approval or are in clinical trials.

China granted emergency use authorisation to Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine as a booster, Livzon said on Friday, one of just two new products against the disease the country had cleared in more than a year.

Cansino also said it was uncertain when its vaccine would be able to go to market, since additional administrative approvals are still needed, while sales would depend on the Covid-19 situation at home and abroad, as well as China’s vaccination rate.

China has seen a recent flare-up in Covid outbreaks. The southern tech hub of Shenzhen imposed a weekend lockdown in most parts of the city on Saturday, while the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu put its 21 million people under lockdown on Thursday.

Mainland China reported 1,848 new coronavirus cases for Sept 3, including both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, compared with 1,988 new cases a day earlier.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2022