Lahore firm seeks emergency use permission for Sinovac vaccine

ISLAMABAD: An application has been filed in Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan seeking emergency use permission for CoronaVac vaccine, quoting sources ARY News reported on Saturday.

A medical equipment import and export firm of Lahore, has submitted the application for the Coronavac vaccine registration, prepared by the Sinovac Life Sciences of China.

The company has also submitted the data of clinical trials of the vaccine to the DRAP, sources said.

DRAP registration board is expected to approve the vaccine in the ongoing month, according to sources.

CoronaVac, inactivated vaccine, comprises of two doses and stored at minus-two to eight degree Celsius temperature, health ministry sources said.

China had allowed emergency use of the CoronaVac in July 2020. Phase-I and Phase-II clinical trials of the vaccine were held in China, while phase-iii trials were conducted in countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Phase-III trials of CoronaVac vaccine were held in Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and Philippines. The vaccine found 83.5 percent effective in Turkey, while in Indonesia the effectivity was 65.3 pct.

It is to be mentioned here that scores of countries including Mexico, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines and Thailand have approved CoronaVac for use.

Indonesia has imported the first consignment of the vaccine in December 2020. Sinovac has exported 70 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to various countries in current month, sources said.

The Sinovac have a productive capacity to manufacture two billion doses of its vaccine every year.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has approved four vaccines for use in the country so far, including China’s Sinopharm and Cansino, Russia’s Sputnik V and Oxford University’s AstraZeneca.