Quick Take: Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate Recruits for Second Phase of Human Trials

What’s new: The manufacturer of one of China’s first potential Covid-19 vaccines is recruiting patients for its second phase of human trials, developer CanSino Biologics Inc. (CanSinoBIO) said Thursday.

The Hong Kong-listed vaccine-maker’s chief, Yu Xuefeng, said the Phase 1 trial — performed on a small number of healthy people to determine if the substance is harmful — was ongoing, but had given early indications the vaccine was safe enough to progress.

The Phase 2 trial was expected to start “soon,” and needed 500 adult volunteers in good health.

Background: Co-developed by CanSinoBIO and the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences’ Institute of Biotechnology, “Ad5-nCoV” is a genetically-engineered vaccine candidate delivered by an adenovirus.

It began a Phase 1 trial in March, and records show that trial is expected to conclude in December.

Ad5-nCoV is one of the several vaccines being developed by researchers around the world, some of which are already being tested on people.

Despite promising early progress, getting any Covid-19 vaccine candidate through all clinical trials and into mass production could take 18 months or more, experts say.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Related: Chinese Vaccine Approved for Human Testing at Virus Epicenter

Contact reporter Guo Yingzhe (yingzheguo@caixin.com) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)