Beijing, June 19: Clover Biopharmaceuticals, a leading pharmaceutical firm in China, has emerged as the country's sixth potential candidate for developing the potential vaccine against coronavirus. The company has partnered with the US-based GSK and the UK-based Dynavax Mix for the early-stage trials. Chinese Labs Race to Create a Coronavirus Vaccine, Researchers Work Weekends, Lab Monkeys in Short Supply.

Clover, in its statement, claimed that around 150 adults including elderly patients have volunteered for the human trials that will begin by end of this week. Two different set of immunity boosters will be administered on them, in combination with SCB-2019 - the vaccine being developed by the company.

The result of SCB-2019 shots would be observed till August. A broader study would then be undertaken to analyse whether the potential vaccine in combination with the immunity boosters was able to create neutralising bodies inside humans against the SARS-CoV-19 virus.

The immunity boosters which will be combined with the potential vaccine doses are supplied by GVK and Dynavax Mix. The partnership with these two companies was inked by Clover in February and March, respectively.

Across the world, nearly a dozen leading drugmakers are involved in active tests to find the vaccine against coronavirus at the earliest. Half of the pharma firms undertaking the tests are based in China.

Apart from Clover, the other leading Chinese groups in the vaccine race are CanSino Biological, Sinopharm, the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Sinovac Biotech. CoronaVac, the vaccine being developed by Sinovac, is leading the race in China and developed are firm on rolling out the potential silver bullet by 2020-end or early next year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2020 04:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).