ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan presented Phase III clinical trials for CanSino Biologics’ COVID-19 candidate vaccine, a Chinese minister and corporate pharmaceutical official said Tuesday.
Pakistan gave the go-ahead for the country’s first Phase III clinical trial in August for CanSino’s candidate, Ad5-nCoV, led by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the pharmaceutical company AJM, CanSino’s representative.
“I have just presented phase III trials for a COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan,” said Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also oversees command and operations led through the country’s army to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
He said a total of 40,000 other people in seven countries will take part in the trial, adding 10,000 in Pakistan. The first effects are expected in 4 to six months, the minister said in a tweeted statement.
The trial began at a hospital in Islamabad, where 20 to 25 subjects were enrolled daily, and will expand to several other cities in the coming days, he told Reuters Hassan Abbas Zaheer, who runs the trial for AJM.
“Our team is here and we were told that a lot of other people came to participate, and that’s very encouraging,” Zaheer said.
Positive daily cases of the virus in Pakistan peaked at more than 6,000 in June, but have fallen dramatically since then, with 582 new cases shown on Tuesday, bringing the total to 306,886 with 6424 deaths.
The South Asian country of 220 million more people conducts between 20,000 and 36,000 tests on a regular basis.
The World Health Organization said it appreciates Pakistan’s efforts to fight the virus, analysts say the precise reasons for the sharp drop in infections have yet to be decided in a country where the public will pay little attention to precautions.
Pakistani schools began a slow reopening this month, and almost every sector has already returned to cinemas, theatres and activity pools.
(Written through Asif Shahzad, edited through Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)
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