Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm has gained approval to launch clinical trials of a COVID-19 drug based on human immunoglobulin derived from vaccinated people, the company said recently.
The drug is the world's first COVID-19 therapy that uses plasma containing rich amounts of antibodies to fight off the novel coronavirus, and it adds to the company's expanding portfolio of medical products targeting the disease, including four vaccines that have already been rolled out or are being researched.
The experimental medication is being developed by Beijing Tiantan Biological Products, administered by China National Biotech Group, a Sinopharm subsidiary. It obtained clinical trial approval from the National Medical Products Administration on Aug 30.
Zhu Jingjin, a senior official of China National Biotech Group, said the experimental medication uses plasma from healthy people who are fully immunized with inactivated vaccines, and contains high levels of neutralizing antibodies.
Zhu added that the drug has completed preclinical studies and animals tests, and has demonstrated marked efficacy in relieving the symptoms and damage caused by the virus in animal tests.
The new drug is based on a promising treatment used during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the company. At the height of the domestic outbreak early last year, China began infusing patients with convalescent plasma of people who had recovered from the disease.