G42 Healthcare begins phase 3 trial of Sinopharm COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate in UAE

Sinopharm COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate : Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinopharm CNBG has launched a phase 3 trial of its COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate, in collaboration with G42 Healthcare, in the UAE.

The vaccine developer had found success with the phase 1 and phase 2 clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine candidate in China. Its vaccine candidate is now the first ever in the world to have entered into phase 3 development.

The earlier phase 1 and phase 2 trials established that the Sinopharm vaccine candidate generated antibodies in all the enrolled volunteers after being subjected to two doses in a span of 28 days.

G42 Healthcare, which is an artificial intelligence and cloud computing company based in Abu Dhabi is carrying out the phase 3 clinical trial of the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate at five sites in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and a mobile clinic owned by the Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA).

The healthtech company said that UAE was picked for hosting the phase 3 coronavirus vaccine trial as the country has a migrant population made up of over 200 nationalities. The diverse population of the UAE is expected to help the clinical research get better insights on how the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate from Sinopharm works against people of different ethnicities.

UAE’s health authorities in the UAE have given permission for the phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine trial to enroll up to 15,000 volunteers. G42 Healthcare and Abu Dhabi Health Services aim to involve at least 5,000 volunteers for the first stage of the late-stage study.

Commenting on the phase 3 trial of the Sinopharm COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate, Ashish Koshy – CEO of G42 Healthcare, said: “We are enormously proud that Sinopharm CNBG has partnered G42 Healthcare in this groundbreaking phase III clinical trial in the UAE. Using our AI solutions, super-computer, advanced diagnostics solutions for COVID-19, G42 Healthcare is uniquely postured to conduct these trials.  G42 Healthcare will be responsible for running clinical operations for this trial.

“We will be leveraging our group’s technical and our own business capabilities to: compute, correlate and provide fast and synthesized insights by deploying multiple AI models on the data generated during the trials to accelerate the much awaiting results. G42 Healthcare will be mobilizing the logistical management of the trials taking in learnings from its proven capabilities in CRO management, clinical sites initiations and other E2E programme management activities.”

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed being dosed with the Sinopharm COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate. Photo courtesy of AETOSWire.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, who is the Chairman of the Department of Health, Abu Dhabi, became the first person in the world to be dosed with the COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate in a phase 3 trial followed by the department’s Acting Undersecretary, Dr. Jamal Al Kaabi.

The phase 3 trial of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate will be open for three to six months for volunteers aged between 18 and 60 years living in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to get themselves enrolled. The enrolled volunteers would have to be available for follow-ups during this time, said G42 Healthcare.

Jingjin Zhu – Sinopharm CNBG President of Biological products, commenting on the phase 3 trial of the Sinopharm COVID-19 inactivated vaccine candidate, said: “The United Arab Emirates is a nation of innovation and tolerance, that is home to individuals from every part of the world and ethnic background. We will work closely with our partner to complete this clinical trial successfully, and make this vaccine available to the people in need worldwide.

“With the full support of local authorities, cutting-edge technologies provided by our partner G42 Healthcare, and high-quality services and supports from the medical and clinical entities, we will jointly contribute to the battle against COVID-19 worldwide.