Due to the low economic and social benefits of continued research and development, Walvax Biotechnology announced once again today the termination of clinical trials for two COVID-19 vaccines. The company had previously terminated clinical trials of a recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine (chimpanzee adenovirus vector). Industry experts believe that the symptoms caused by the current coronavirus have decreased significantly, and the virus continues to mutate, making the market for COVID-19 vaccines even more limited.
When facing thousands of listed company announcements every day, which ones should you read? What are the key points to take away from the dozens or hundreds of pages of material announcements? Are the many professional terms in the announcements bullish or bearish? Check out Caixin's "Quick Read Announcement" column, where our reporters across the country will provide you with accurate, fast and professional interpretations on the night of the announcement.
On June 17th, Caijing reported that after terminating the phase I clinical trial of a recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine (chimp adenovirus vector) in April due to low economic and social benefits, Walvax Biotechnology (300142.SZ) announced today the termination of clinical trials for two new coronavirus vaccines. The three remaining coronavirus vaccines are all mRNA vaccines, of which one has been approved for emergency use and the other two are in phase III clinical trials with products operating income ranging from CNY 40.1 million to CNY 12.88 million to CNY 0.6 million for products valued at CNY 10 billion to CNY 30 billion.
On the evening of today, Walvax Biotechnology issued a notice on the termination of the clinical trial of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cells) and the recombinant COVID-19 mutant strain vaccine (CHO cells) developed by its holding subsidiary Shanghai Zerun.
Regarding the termination, the company stated that the above two vaccines were mainly used to prevent diseases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Due to the early development time, the vaccines were mainly designed and developed for the epidemic strain of the new coronavirus at that time. According to the variation of the new coronavirus, these two vaccines no longer meet the requirements of the country for the COVID-19 vaccine that needs to be targeted at the current variant or effective for the current variant. The economic and social benefits of continuing research on these two vaccines are low.
In addition, Watson Biotechnology stated in the announcement that due to the research and development progress of these two vaccines, Beijing Zerun, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai Zerun, did not actually invest in the construction of the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cells) industrialization project. At the same time, the early research and development of these two projects received funding support from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). Shanghai Zerun has basically completed the relevant work required for the pre-funding request. After the termination of the clinical trials of these two vaccines, Shanghai Zerun will work with CEPI to determine the final closing matters.
According to reports, the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cells) and the recombinant COVID-19 mutant strain vaccine (CHO cells) were approved for clinical trials by the National Medical Products Administration in June 2021 and August 2022, respectively.
From the pipeline progress, according to the annual report, the recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (CHO cells) is in phase II clinical research stage while the recombinant COVID-19 mutant strain vaccine (CHO cells) is in phase I clinical research stage.
This is not the first time this year that Walvax Biotechnology has terminated its COVID-19 vaccine trial. On April 25th, the company announced the termination of the clinical trial of a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (chimp adenovirus vector) developed by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing Vida. The reason for the termination is similar to this time - the vaccine no longer meets the requirements of China's current COVID-19 vaccine that needs to include effective components against the XBB variant, and the economic and social benefits of continuing the research on this vaccine are low.
As of now, Walvax Biotechnology's three remaining COVID-19 vaccines are all mRNA vaccines. Among them, the mRNA vaccine for the COVID-19 mutant strain (Omicron XBB.1.5) received a letter from the Research and Development Special Team of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council on December 1, 2023, and was approved for emergency use by relevant national departments. In addition, the mRNA vaccine for the COVID-19 mutant strain (S protein fusion) and the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 are both in phase III clinical research stage.
Industry expert Li Changcheng analyzed and stated to Caijing that the current COVID-19 virus can basically fuse with the antibodies produced by the human body, and some even have lighter symptoms than many influenza symptoms. The antibodies produced by the human body reduce the severity of the COVID-19 virus, reducing the threat to human life. In addition, virus mutation is also a reason for the termination of Walvax Biotechnology's research and development. After the COVID-19 virus undergoes mutation, the vaccine being researched has limited resistance to it, which makes the market space for COVID-19 vaccines even more limited.