China grants first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino Biologics' 'experimental vaccine'

Shortly after the Chinese Army received the approval for the usage of a COVID-19 experimental vaccine jointly developed by the military's research unit and CanSino Biologics, Chinese media on Tuesday reported that the country had granted its first COVID-19 vaccine patent to it. "The adenovirus vector vaccine candidate was found to be safe and able to trigger an immune response in the first and second stages of clinical trials," reported state-sponsored media China Daily on Tuesday.

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According to Chinese media, the vaccine is yet to complete the third and largest phase of trials before gaining market approval, however, animal studies have demonstrated the vaccine's ability to reduce viral amounts in the lungs thereby inducing immunity. As per the patent document published on the website of the National Intellectual Property Administration, the application for the newly issued patent was submitted on March 18, and was approved on Aug 11, China Daily reported.

Back on June 29, CanSino Biologics stated that the clinical trials of the vaccine proved to be safe and apparently, even efficient. According to an international media agency, Ad5-nCoV is one of the eight vaccine candidates that are currently being developed by the China-based firms while the global deaths have surpassed 7 lakh. It was also the first vaccine to enter first-stage clinical trials in China back in March at the onset of the global outbreak of the Coronavirus. It's second-stage trials began worldwide on April 12.

Along with the Chinese military, Ad5-nCoV has also been approved by the Canadian government for human testing in the country. The vaccine candidate has been jointly developed by CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology in the Academy of Military Medical Sciences. The phase-three clinical trials will be conducted overseas and planning is currently in the pipeline, according to Chinese reports, however, the location is yet to be ascertained. 

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