(adds details)
HONG KONG/BEIJING, Nov 11 (Reuters) - China's Tibet Rhodiola
Pharmaceutical Holding announced a deal on Wednesday
to manufacture, sell and test Russia's COVID-19 vaccine in
China, hours after interim results showed it was 92% effective
at protecting people from the disease.
The initial results of the Sputnik V vaccine are only the
second to be published from a late-stage human trial in the
global effort to produce vaccine that could halt a pandemic that
has killed more than 1.2 million people and ravaged the world
economy.
Rhodiola said it plans to conduct early and mid-stage trials
of the Russian vaccine in China and final-stage trials overseas,
although the trials are yet to be approved by regulators.
Rhodiola, currently unable to produce the Russian vaccine,
said it would outsource early development and manufacturing
work, and would also consider building production lines at its
subsidiary.
The deal requires Rhodiola's unit to supply the Russian firm
with enough vaccine doses to inoculate at least 20 million
people in 2021. It adds to several manufacturing deals Russia
has announced so far, including a plan to produce 300 million
doses in India.
The agreement would also allow Rhodiola to supply vaccine
produced in China to designated buyers overseas.
While China has five vaccines in the final stage of clinical
trials, local firms have also partnered with foreign drugmakers
to test and distribute front-running vaccines in the country.
Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group is seeking
regulatory approval to trial a product from Pfizer and
BioNTech, and Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products
aims to begin human tests for AstraZeneca's
candidate this year.
(Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Meg Shen, editing by Louise
Heavens and Bernadette Baum)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
