China's Sinopharm says vaccine 79% effective

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm on Wednesday announced that its vaccine has nearly 80% efficacy and is seeking market approval from authorities.

It was developed by China National Biotech Group (CNBG), a subsidiary of the state-owned Sinopharm.

The vaccine has 79.34% efficacy and around 99.52% antibody positive conversion rate, the Beijing Biological Products Institute said in a statement.

It added that interim results of Phase 3 clinical trials, which are underway in a number of countries, on its inactivated vaccine showed that “the vaccine can trigger high-titer coronavirus antibodies after two injections.”

Earlier this month, the UAE officially approved Sinopharm's experimental vaccine, saying it has 86% efficacy.

China has a total of six vaccine candidates in the final stage of trials, including the ones developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac, which were approved for emergency use in the country this summer.