Coronavirus: as countries play blame game over Covid-19, firms work across borders to get a vaccine out
- Doctor at Chinese firm working with German company says global collaboration as much as science will lead to Covid-19 vaccine
- Fosun Pharma, involved with a candidate in phase 3 trials, is among several Chinese companies partnered with overseas vaccine makers
He hired three drivers to pick up the vaccine cargo – packed in dry ice at minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit) – and take turns at the wheel of a special-purpose, temperature-controlled vehicle for the 1,000km drive south to Jiangsu province to begin one of China’s first clinical trials of an overseas-made Covid-19 vaccine.
“This is my first experience with such speed dosing for the first subject in a clinical trial,” said Hui, a doctor with three decades of experience in research and development in the US, China and Japan.
The Jiangsu first-stage trials started in July with 144 adults, part of an agreement between Hui’s company, commonly known as Fosun Pharma, and the vaccine creator Germany’s BioNTech SE. Pfizer Inc. of the United States has partnered with BioNTech on Covid-19 vaccine development for the global market outside China.
