CanSino's COVID-19 vaccine promising, but more research needed

Study results released on Friday of 108 adults has found that Chinese biotech firm CanSino Biologics' (HK: 6185) vaccine Ad5-nCoV produced neutralizing antibodies and T-cell response against SARS-CoV-2, but further research is needed to confirm whether the vaccine protects against SARS-COV-2 infection.

The vaccine candidate is built on CanSinoBIO’s adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine technology platform, which has also been successfully applied to develop the globally innovative vaccine against Ebola virus infection. Results from pre-clinical animal studies of Ad5-nCoV showed that the vaccine candidate can induce strong immune response in animal models. The pre-clinical animal safety studies demonstrated a good safety profile, according to an earlier statement form CanSino. The company’s shares were down 13.9% at HK$191.10 today.

This first COVID-19 vaccine to reach Phase I clinical trial in China, has been found to be safe, well-tolerated, and able to generate an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in humans, according to new research published on Friday in The Lancet. The open-label trial in 108 healthy adults demonstrates promising results after 28 days -- the final results will be evaluated in six months. Further trials are needed to tell whether the immune response it elicits effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection.