Potential Covid-19 vaccine from China shows promise in animal tests
A potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese researchers has shown promise during trials in monkeys, triggering antibodies and raising no safety issues, while a human trial with more than 1,000 participants is under way, researchers have said.
“These results support the further evaluation of BBIBP-CorV in a clinical trial,” researchers said in the paper.
BBIBP-CorV, developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Products affiliated to state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), is among five candidates China is testing in humans.
More than 100 potential COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of development around the world.
As well as appearing safe and able to generate an immune response in animals, BBIBP-CorV did not appear to trigger antibodies that could boost the infection – a phenomenon known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE)- the researchers said, although this does not necessarily guarantee ADE won’t occur in human tests.
Apart from BBIBP-CorV, Sinopharm, which has invested 1 billion yuan (£110.8m) in vaccine projects, is testing in humans another vaccine candidate developed by its Wuhan-based unit. The two shots have been given to more than 2,000 people in clinical trials.
