China grants country’s first Covid-19 vaccine patent to CanSino

China’s vaccine maker CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCOV, People’s Daily reported, citing documents from the country’s intellectual property regulator. The patent was submitted for application on March 18, and was approved on August 11, the report said. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China.

On August 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia had won the global race to approve a covid vaccine. Russia said that the first consignments of its “Sputnik” vaccine had been produced and will be given to healthcare professionals on a voluntary basis.

China’s CanSino’s vaccine uses a modified common cold virus to carry genetic material from the new coronavirus into the human body, a method also used by the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Both vaccines elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses and neither prompted any serious side effects in early trials. T-cells are an important component of the immune system’s attack against foreign invaders, such as viruses.

Results of both trials were released in the medical journal the Lancet.

Reports said that CanSino’s covid vaccine has already received the greenlight to be used by China’s military despite not yet undergoing the type of large-scale testing needed to prove its ability to prevent infection.

CanSino’s vaccine candidate was the first in China to move into human testing in March but other potential vaccines developed by Sinovac Biotech and a unit of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) have already been approved for Phase III trials overseas.

Saudi Arabia said this month it plans to begin Phase III clinical trials for the CanSino vaccine. CanSino has said it is also in talks with Brazil and Chile to launch Phase III trials in those countries.

Saudi Arabia plans to test the vaccine alongside a placebo on 5,000 volunteers and is currently preparing trials in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam and Mecca, Saudi state news agency SPA had reported.