Beijing:China has granted the first invention patent to a COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc in the country, which experts said demonstrates the vaccine's originality and creativity.
According to a Global Times report, the vaccine is a recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV co-developed by CanSino with a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei.
"The grant of the patent further confirmed the vaccine's efficacy and safety, and convincingly demonstrated the ownership of its intellectual property rights (IPR)," CanSino said in a statement on Sunday.
An officially granted patent would enhance the market's confidence in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, especially that of the international market.
"The US has been making accusations since May that Chinese hackers were attempting to steal novel coronavirus data on treatments and vaccines without providing substantial evidence," said the report.
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According to CanSino, they applied for a patent with the National Intellectual Property Administration on March 18, three days after they launched phase one clinical trials on the candidate and received approval on August 11.
The phase III trial on the vaccine which will be conducted overseas is progressing smoothly, the company said in the statement.
CanSino has signed deals with Mexico to conduct late-stage clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines.