SINGAPORE: The first Chinese mpox vaccine has been approved for clinical trials across China starting on Monday (Sep 9), with the company behind it saying that early studies show promising results and effective immunity protection against the highly infectious virus.
The jab was developed by Shanghai Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm, which was also responsible for China’s first COVID-19 vaccine at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
There are currently no approved mpox vaccines in China and Sinopharm’s new vaccine is expected to play an important role in the control and prevention of the disease in the country, said the company on its WeChat account on Monday.
The safety and effectiveness of the mpox vaccine have been “fully demonstrated by clinical data”, it said, adding that it offers good immunity protection against the virus as seen in “non-human primate models”.
A vaccine candidate in China typically goes through three phases of clinical trials before gaining market approval, and the process can take years and even decades, Chinese news site China Daily reported.
The arrival of the new vaccine comes amid a rise in mpox cases around the world.
Previously known as “monkeypox”, the highly infectious disease can spread quickly through close contact. Symptoms include fever, headaches, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
China in 2022 classified mpox as a Class B infectious disease, allowing officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school or sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.
The World Health Organization in August declared a global public health emergency after a newer and more infectious mpox variant was identified.
China has to date reported more than 2,500 mpox cases, which include caseloads in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
Chinese officials began stepping up checks and other preemptive measures earlier this month, announcing thorough screenings for all overseas arrivals over the next six months.
This will also apply to all aircraft and vessels, as well as containers and goods entering China, officials said.
