A Chinese drugmaker has expressed great confidence in its potential COVID-19 vaccine

The manufacturer of a potential coronavirus vaccine has said it is very likely the drug will work and is building a commercial plant in Beijing to produce 100 million doses.

Chinese researchers are pinning big hopes on their potential coronavirus vaccine, saying they are “99 per cent sure” it will be effective.

Biotech company Sinovac, based in Beijing, is in stage two trials with its vaccine currently, with over 1000 volunteers involved in the experiment.

The company is currently in talks to hold the final stage of trials (stage three) in the UK.

An engineer taking samples of monkey kidney cells as he tests an experimental vaccine for COVID-19 at the Sinovac Biotech facilities in Beijing. Picture: AFP

When asked if he thought the test would be successful, Sinovac researcher Luo Baishan said: “Yes, yes. It must be successful … 99 per cent sure.”

The vaccine, called CoronaVac, was shown to protect monkeys from infection by coronavirus in study results published in the academic journal science last month.

Due to difficulties conducting tests in China due to the low number of reported cases in the country, researchers are looking to conduct stage three elsewhere.

Sinovac is pushing ahead with production of the drug even as the trials are ongoing.

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An engineer holds a plastic model of the COVID-19 coronavirus at the Quality Control Laboratory at the Sinovac Biotech facilities in Beijing. Picture: AFP

A commercial plant is under construction in Beijing with the objective of producing 100 million doses.

Helen Yang, the company’s senior director of investor relations, says they hope to make the vaccine available for the entire population of China.

“We are discussing this and recommending it to other countries as well,” she said.

“We are firstly targeting high-risk groups, for example, health workers or senior citizens, who may have a higher level of fatality rate. I think that will be the starting point. To be frank, the vaccine needs to be produced lot by lot.”

An engineer works at the Quality Control Laboratory on an experimental vaccine for COVID-19. Picture: AFP

The company’s promising claims offer a kernel of hope, however the road to finding a vaccine is still long. Stage two trials must go on for some months before they progress to stage three trials, after which the vaccine still needs to be approved.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca also claims to be making good headway with their own vaccine trial. If successful, the vaccine will be made available in the UK before being distributed to the rest of the world.

Originally published as A Chinese drugmaker has expressed great confidence in its potential COVID-19 vaccine