Sinopharm’s COVID-19 Vaccine Generates “Comparable’ Antibodies in Trials

Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine generated antibodies at levels on par with some of its competitors, according to early trial data released by scientists connected with the company and other China-based research institutes.

The researchers reported in JAMA that interim data from a phase 1 and a phase 2 study in China showed that most participants given the vaccine produced antibody responses at rates comparable to other vaccine candidates, including Moderna’s mRNA-1273, Pfizer’s and BioNTEch’s BNT162b1, and AstraZeneca’s AZD1222. They alsosaid the levels were higher than those generated by CanSino Biologics’ Ad5-nCoV.

But the researchers acknowledged that the comparisons may not be completely reliable due to “the different vaccine doses in those trials and different assay methods.”

The phase 1 trial tested 2.5-mcg, 5-mcg or 10-mcg doses in 96 participants, while the phase 2 trial tested a 5-mcg dose in 224 participants. Both trials showed that a longer 21- to 28-day interval between a first and second injection produced higher antibody responses than from a 14-day interval. No serious adverse events were reported.

Sinopharm’s COVID-19 vaccine is currently in phase 3 clinical testing in the United Arab Emirates.

Read the full results here: bit.ly/2E5CfnO. — Jordan Williams