On Thursday, A local pharmaceutical company has signed a deal with a Chinese giant that allowed it to supply and produce an upcoming Covid-19 vaccine in Pakistan.
This has emerged in a letter written by M/s Searle Company Limited to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, saying it had concluded an agreement with China’s Livzon Mapharm Inc. for manufacturing a novel coronavirus vaccine (V-01) in Pakistan.
“Searle Company has concluded an exclusive licensing and supply agreement with Livzon Mapharm Inc. for the Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine (V-01). The licensing agreement also covers the manufacturing transition of (V-01) in Pakistan,” the company said.
The communique suggested that the vaccine was in the final phases of its trial which suggested promising results. The company expressed the hope that it would add value to the overall exercise against the pandemic.
“The Recombinant Novel Covid-19 Vaccine (V-01) developed by Livzon has shown promising results in phase 1 & Il clinical trial,” the letter said. “The phase Ill clinical study will include multiple countries and enroll more than 20,000 subjects, with the aim to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of the V-01 program.”
The company said that among the many new Covid-19 vaccine projects being developed around the world, V-01 had many potential advantages such as a strong safety profile, high neutralizing antibody titer in vivo, long durability, and easy to scale up for manufacturing. “Searle is confident that in the existing pandemic, the relevant authorities will take up the matter on [an] urgent basis & support for fast-track approval to carry out phase III clinical trials in Pakistan,” it added.
