China’s first self-developed mRNA vaccine to go into mass production in October with annual capacity of 200 million doses

MRNA vaccine photo: Web

China’s first production base for a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, which uses raw materials and basic equipment produced in the country, is expected to be commissioned in October. Experts said this proves that China has understood the basic technology of mRNA vaccines and that it will boost the country’s mass vaccination campaign.

Jointly developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Suzhou Abogen and Yunnan Walvax Biotechnology Co, the mRNA vaccine called ARCoVax is expected to go into mass production at the Yuxi base in southwest China’s Yunnan province. .

With an investment of 520 million yuan ($ 80 million), the plant, the first mRNA vaccine production base in China, has the capacity to produce 200 million doses per year.

Compared with mRNA vaccines developed by the United States and Germany, the national mRNA vaccine is much safer because the selection of the vaccine’s target antigen is more precise and the neutralizing antibodies induced are higher, according to the media. .

The storage cost of this vaccine is lower than overseas because it adopts a single injection in one package and can be stored at room temperature for a week or at 4 ° C for a long time, which makes it easier to use. .

These factors set this home ARCoVax product apart from the West-dominated mRNA vaccines made by pharmaceutical giants Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which require much lower temperatures and tighter temperature controls, experts said.

The vaccine will be able to meet demand once it goes into production, as the raw materials and basic equipment for Chinese mRNA vaccines have been manufactured nationally.

A Beijing-based immunologist told the Global Times on Thursday that the nationally produced mRNA vaccine demonstrates China’s huge improvements in mRNA technology and the country’s leadership position in biotechnology.

Such technology could be used in other biomedical fields such as oncotherapy and the treatment of genetic defects, said the immunologist.

On Thursday, the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that domestic manufacturers of mRNA and adenovirus types vaccines have started research and development on how their vaccines could better treat variants such as Delta. and Beta.

ARCoVax has been approved to start advanced clinical trials in Mexico and Indonesia by local health authorities, Yunnan Walvax Biotechnology Co announced on August 31.

China’s vaccine options will be enriched by the mixed use of different types – inactivated, mRNA or adenovirus, experts noted.

The immunologist estimated that the first mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 will boost the country’s mass vaccination campaign, as the possibility of China using an mRNA vaccine as a booster injection cannot be ruled out.