DUBAI: An experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) has 86 per cent efficacy, the UAE health ministry said yesterday, citing an interim analysis of late-stage clinical trials.
While the positive data comes soon after last month’s upbeat results from Western rivals, such as Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and from Russia, neither the UAE nor Sinopharm have released detailed data from the pivotal study.
In July, the UAE started Phase III clinical trials of the vaccine, developed by Beijing Institute of Biological Product, a unit of Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG).
In September, it authorised emergency use of the vaccine for certain groups, the first such international clearance for a vaccine developed in China.
The analysis also shows “99pc seroconversion rate of neutralising antibody and 100pc effectiveness in preventing moderate and severe cases of the disease”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state news agency.
“The analysis shows no serious safety concerns,” it said.
It also said it had officially registered the vaccine, without elaborating, and that 31,000 volunteers across 125 nationalities took part in the UAE trial.
The UAE trial is a partnership between CNBG, Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.
Sinopharm and G42 have also expanded the trial to Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain.
Abu Dhabi this week said it was seeking volunteers to take part in clinical trials of Russia’s Covid-19 vaccine, known as Sputnik V.
From this week, the vaccine is being offered on a voluntary basis in Abu Dhabi health centres and clinics run by the capital’s public hospital group Seha.
Details of a nationwide roll-out are yet to be announced, local newspapers reported.
Residents receive one vaccine shot, followed by a second three weeks later.
In the weeks following the second shot, they are tested for antibodies to determine if they are protected against Covid-19.
The vaccine is among the three most advanced candidates from China in terms of development and has been used to vaccinate around one million people in the country under its emergency use programme.
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