(Yicai Global) June 23 -- Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products has secured a 12-month approval for clinical trials of its co-developed Covid-19 vaccine, the company said in a statement at midday that sent its shares [SHE:300122] up 4.78 percent in the afternoon.

Zhifei Biological fell off to CNY102.88 (USD14.5) in the afternoon after hitting a new high of CNY108.01 intraday.

The new coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Zhifei Biological Products’ wholly-owned unit Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical and the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a recombinant subunit vaccine that induces high levels of neutralizing antibodies that greatly reduce the viral load of lung tissues and lung damage caused by viral infections in animal tests, per the statement.

Industrial production of the shot has the advantages of high capacity and low cost, the statement added.

Recombinant subunit vaccine is made by screening out immunologically active fragments from special protein structures of bacteria and viruses extracted through chemical decomposition or controlled protein hydrolysis.

Several Chinese teams are developing 12 new coronavirus inoculants following five technical routes, recombinant subunit vaccines among them. One adenovirus vector and four inactivated jabs from among the 12 compounds have begun clinical trials, public data show. Not one of these has undergone phase 3 clinical trials, however, which is a necessary prelude to their consumer use.

Editor: Ben Armour