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A United Arab Emirates company is nearing the end of Phase III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine and hopes to manufacture it next year, a representative said.
The trial, which began in mid-July, is a partnership between Sinopharm’s China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42).
The vaccine uses an inactivated virus; a well-known technology which has been used against diseases such as influenza and measles.
The Vaccine has been administered to more than 31,000 people in the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy confirmed.
Results analysis and publication will be done in two months time, Koshy said.
He said G42 has distribution and manufacturing agreements with Sinopharm and hopes to provide the UAE and other regional states with the vaccine, especially those that participated in the trial.
The target is to produce between 75 and 100 million doses next year in the UAE, he said.
“Early results are showing it is safe, there is a general rise in antibodies for all the volunteers,” Koshy said. “In terms of being effective it is on the journey, but only time will tell in terms of the whole picture.”
Emirati volunteer Wo’oud Al-Motawaa was vaccinated around two months ago and returned to the facility in the emirate of Abu Dhabi for one of her follow-up checks.
The UAE has a high per capita rate of COVID-19 tests, having carried out more than 10 million tests in a population of around 9.9 million, the government statistics authority says.
