The second meeting of the China Vaccine Industry Technological Innovation Strategic Alliance (CVITISA) was held in Beijing on May 18, brought together 27 institutions and companies engaged in vaccine research and development, production, supervision, and application. The aim of the meeting was to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccines and strengthen technological innovation and cooperation in the vaccine field.

As chairman of the CVITISA and China National Biotech Group Co Ltd (CNBG), Yang Xiaoming acknowledged the achievements and expressed concerns about China's vaccine development. "Although China has been leading in the development of some types of COVID-19 vaccines globally, gaps still exist in the diversity of viral vector types, large scale mRNA production, delivery for nucleic acid vaccines, and protein structure design," said Yang.

"China's research and development of COVID-19 vaccines keep in line with international standards, which lays the foundation for companies to carry out international cooperation in phase III clinical trials," Ying Bo, CEO of Suzhou Abogen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. said. "We have received cooperation proposals from nonprofit organizations at international conferences, but it is still relatively difficult to achieve cooperation on company level."

Established in 2013, members of the Alliance include centers for disease control, National Institutes for Food and Drug Control, universities and research institutes, vaccine companies, and other related units.

Shen Xinliang, a researcher of CNBG, believes that the Alliance will facilitate information sharing within the industry and give full play to the advantages of all parties in the industry chain to jointly promote vaccine development.

"Forming an industrial alliance will help promote cooperation with international organizations," he added.

According to Ying Bo, collective efforts within the framework of the Alliance will also help the application of new vaccines. Currently, recombinant protein vaccines and nucleic acid-based vaccines account for a large portion of over 100 vaccines reportedly in development across the world. Still, China has not yet approved the clinical trials of these two new types of vaccines.

"To make COVID-19 vaccines available requires the cooperation of multiple departments. Under the framework of the Alliance, if a regular mechanism is formed, the new vaccines will be recognized by vaccine manufacturers at a faster pace," Ying Bo said.

At the meeting, the Alliance called for enhancing the construction of the entire vaccine industry chain, optimizing existing vaccine technologies and products, and improving international cooperation in vaccine research and development.

International experts from organizations, including the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control and PATH, expressed their appreciation for China's efforts in pandemic control and vaccine development via recorded videos and called for further cooperation with China.

At present, one recombinant adenovirus vector vaccine and four inactivated vaccines have been approved by China's Food and Drug Administration to carry out phase I or II clinical trials.

Content in partnership with Science and Technology Daily.

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