FAST NEWS: CanSino’s Inhaled Covid Booster Gets China Green Light

The latest: CanSino Biologics Inc. (6185.HK; 688185.SH) announced on Sunday that China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) have given emergency use authorization for its inhaled recombinant Covid-19 vaccine for use as a booster vaccine.

Looking up: CanSino says the vaccine not only stimulated humoral and cellular immunity, but also induced mucosal immunity to achieve triple comprehensive protection against Covid-19 without an injection. The inhaled vaccine also has unique advantages of painlessness and convenience.

Take Note: The company said that although the vaccine was authorized for emergency use, it will still face fierce competition and will be affected by the development of the domestic and international pandemics, and rates of Covid-19 vaccination in China.

Digging Deeper: Founded in 2009 as a vaccine manufacturer, CanSino was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in March 2019 and on the Shanghai STAR Market in August 2020, becoming the first vaccine stock to be concurrently listed in both places. The company has multiple Covid-19 vaccines.  In addition to the inhaled vaccine, it has also developed an injected vaccine, Convidecia, which uses recombinant adenovirus carrier type 5 technology. That vaccine also received conditional approval from the NMPA in February last year and was certified for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) in May this year. It is now widely used in China and many countries around the world. CanSino has also developed a Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, which has been approved for clinical trials in China.

Market Reaction: CanSino shares rose 7% on Monday after the news came out. But they gave back some of that in Tuesday morning trade, closing down 5.5% to HK$50.55 at the midday break, close to their 52-week low.

Translation by Jony Ho

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