(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 -- China National Pharmaceutical Group has become the country’s first drugmaker to announce final stage clinical trial results for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The jab was found to be 79.34 percent effective, it said today.

The vaccine, developed by unit Beijing Biological Products Institute, is safe without any serious side effects, said CNPG, also known as Sinopharm. Phase III tests were carried out on over 50,000 volunteers in many countries across the world including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Peru and Argentina.

People who received two doses of the jab all produced high titers of antibodies and saw their neutralizing antibody positive conversion rate reach 99.52 percent, the Beijing-based firm said.

The results meet the standards of the World Health Organization and China’s National Medical Products Administration, it said. Beijing Biological will now apply to regulators for approval to take the product to market, it added.

The UAE and Bahrain have already approved this vaccine for use.

China currently has five Covid-19 vaccine candidates in Phase III clinical trials, two of which are developed by Sinopharm subsidiaries.

Editor: Kim Taylor