Sinopharm begins phase 3 trial of Covid-19 inactivated vaccine candidate

The late-stage study of the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine candidate marks the first phase 3 clinical trial for any vaccine candidate being developed in the world against the novel coronavirus.

The Chinese vaccine manufacturer has partnered with G42 Healthcare, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, to undertake the phase 3 trial.

G42 Healthcare, in turn, is holding the trials in coordination with Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), under the supervision of the UAE health ministry and the Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH).

SEHA is offering five of its sites in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain along with a mobile clinic for holding the trials.

Health authorities in the UAE are allowing up to 15,000 volunteers to take part in the phase 3 study. However, G42 Healthcare and SEHA are looking to enrol up to a minimum of 5,000 participants for the first stage of the programme for ensuring the robustness of the trial results.

According to G42 Healthcare, the UAE was selected to hold the late-stage trial of the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine candidate as it has been home to more than 200 nationalities. This diversity in population enables strong research across various ethnicities while raising its feasibility for global application, said the Abu Dhabi-based firm.

G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy said: “We are enormously proud to partner with Sinopharm CNBG in this groundbreaking phase III clinical trial. Using our AI solutions, super-computer, advanced diagnostics solutions for COVID-19, and G42 Healthcare will be responsible for running clinical operations for these trials.”

The phase 3 trial of the Covid-19 inactivated vaccine candidate follows the phase 1 and 2 trials held by Sinopharm. The two earlier trials are claimed to have been successful with the vaccine candidate generating antibodies in all the participating volunteers following two doses in 28 days.

Sinopharm CNBG biological products president Jingjin Zhu said: “We will work closely with our partner to complete this clinical trial successfully, and make this vaccine available to the people in need worldwide.

“With the full support of local authorities, cutting-edge technologies provided by our partner G42 Healthcare, and high-quality services and supports from the medical and clinical entities, we will jointly contribute to the battle against COVID-19 worldwide.”