A Pakistani firm Searle will manufacture Covid vaccine locally with collaboration of Chinese firm Livzon Mapharm, says a statement.
An indigenous pharmaceutical company, on Thursday, signed a deal with China’s Livzon Mapharm Inc. to begin manufacturing Covid vaccine in Pakistan. The news came in a letter written by M/s Searle Company Limited to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, saying it had concluded an agreement with China.
The company said,
“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 communication 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 overall exercise against the pandemic.
The letter said,
“The Recombinant Novel Covid-19 Vaccine (V-01) developed by Livzon has shown promising results in phase 1 & Il clinical trial. 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 V-01 programme.”
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 strong safety profile, high neutralising 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.
“It would be first of its kind if any of the pharmaceutical companies bring production authority of any approved vaccine,” said a pharmaceutical industry official.
