(Yicai Global) Sept. 16 -- China's first messenger ribonucleic acid vaccine candidate against the novel coronavirus is about to begin Phase III clinical trials in Mexico, one of its co-developers said yesterday.

Vaccine samples were shipped to Mexico in early September and will arrive at testing sites next week, Walvax Technologies. The firm is sending a team to the South American country to assist in the work. Testing is also due to begin soon in Indonesia and Nepal.

The trials will evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of the experimental mRNA vaccine in people aged 18 and above, the Kunming, southwestern Yunnan province-based company said. They will be carried out in a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled manner.

ARCoV, co-developed by Walvax, biotech startup Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and the Academy of Military Medical Sciences' Institute of Biotechnology, can be stored and transported at conventional cold chain temperatures of between two and eight degrees Celsius for at least seven months, making it convenient for mass distribution.

mRNA vaccines are a new technology and a promising alternative to conventional jabs. They use a sequence of mRNA, or the genetic code transcribed from the DNA of a target protein, which when introduced directly into the human body can stimulate the production of antigens and a specific immune response.

Walvax is building the country’s first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine production base in Yunnan. Costing around CNY280 million (USD43.5 million), the first phase is expected to come into operation before the end of the year with an annual capacity of 120 million doses.

Walvax’s stock price [SHE:300142] was trading down 1.28 percent to CNY67.11 (USD10.43) at 1:30 p.m. today.

Editor: Kim Taylor