Yu Xuefeng, Chairman of CanSino Bio: Compared with the new crown vaccine production capacity, I want to raise the issue of production efficiency more

Reporter | Zheng Jie

Edit|Xu Yue

At the just-concluded Boao Forum for Asia 2021 annual meeting, the new crown vaccine was the topic of most concern
.

On the one hand, the domestic new crown vaccine is being vaccinated on a large scale and in an orderly manner; on the other hand, the adenovirus vaccines of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have also been suspended by some countries and regions due to suspected thrombotic adverse reactions

At present, there are a total of 5 new crown vaccines on the market in China.
The 3 vaccines of the inactivated route are produced by Sinopharm Zhongsheng Beijing, Sinopharm Zhongsheng Wuhan, and Beijing Kexing Zhongwei.
The recombinant protein route vaccine is produced by Zhongke Zhifei, and one The new crown vaccine of the adenovirus vector route is produced by CanSino Bio
.

Just a few days before the opening of the Boao Forum for Asia 2021 annual meeting, on April 14, affected by the suspension of AstraZeneca and Johnson's adenovirus vaccines, Cansino Bio's stock price was affected
.

On the same day, the CanSino Bio-Hong Kong Stock Exchange clarified that it had not received any adverse event report related to thrombosis.

So, what is the current situation of CanSino Bio's new crown vaccination? How about the accumulated real-world data? How to plan for commercialization at home and abroad? What kind of emergency response has been formed in this epidemic? How do you view the status of the domestic new crown vaccine supply, production capacity and raw materials? In response to the above issues, on the evening of April 20th, Jiemian reporters interviewed Yu Xuefeng, the chairman and founder of CanSino Bio, at the 2021 annual meeting of the Boao Forum for Asia
.

The following is the content of the interview, edited by interface news reporters
.

Jiemian News: Cansino Bio's new crown vaccine has been vaccinated overseas, including the Ruili epidemic in Yunnan.
Cansino Bio's vaccine is also being vaccinated on a large scale in Ruili.
What is the accumulated real-world data?

       Yu Xuefeng: An independent data security committee composed of international experts disclosed that 14 days after the injection, nearly 70% protection can be achieved, and protection against severe illness can reach more than 95%
.

So far, from the global 1 to 2 million vaccination range, we have no reports of serious adverse reactions similar to thrombosis.

       At the same time, as more people are vaccinated, there will be more individual differences, and reports of side effects will increase
.

After vaccination, it is normal to have fever and local pain

       Jiemian News: How is the current situation of CanSino Biovaccine going overseas? How to lay out commercialization at home and abroad?

       Yu Xuefeng: Vaccines going to other countries require the approval of the host country’s drug regulatory authority and the EUA (emergency use authorization) of the other country.
This will definitely take time.
Our team is working hard
.

       However, at present, the international recognition and demand for Cansino bio-vaccine are still relatively large, and this recognition includes developed countries
.

On the one hand, it is because we have an effective injection, which saves a lot of medical costs, and it is better to wait until 6 months to strengthen the effect

       Our current data is that after strengthening, the antibody level and comprehensive cellular immunity can be increased by more than 10 times, and the long-term protection efficiency is very high
.

There is another reason.

       I am not worried about domestic commercialization
.

At present, there are still a small number of people who have received the new crown vaccine in China, and the market is still very large

       Jiemian News: At present, the production capacity of domestic new crown vaccine companies is a key factor in commercialization.
How do you view the current status and problems of vaccine production capacity, supply and distribution?

       Yu Xuefeng: Now everyone is increasing production capacity.
Our current annual output is 200 to 300 million doses, which is at least 20 million doses a month on average.
But objectively speaking, our 20 million doses can hit 20 million people
.

In the short term, everyone will tell you that I want this vaccine today, but there is no company in the world that can supply it indefinitely

       Raw materials are what every vaccine company is worried about
.
In the vaccine industry chain, regardless of the raw materials, supply, packaging and other aspects of the vaccine, there is an absolute problem
.
Some products need to be imported, and some raw materials are relatively simple.
For example, the amount of raw materials is a certain amount.
The new crown vaccine companies in the world use this raw material.
Then A company has stocked a large amount, while B company is gone
.

       Vaccines are not an enterprise's own business.
Our domestic enterprises should work hard to cooperate and bring products to the world
.
In particular, there are many interfering factors in the entire production process of the vaccine, and the daily output is different
.

       I think we are objective: if I say that our production capacity is expanded by several billions, what if there is no bottle? So I want to raise the issue of efficiency even more.
The same raw material per unit volume can produce more products
.

       Everyone should calmly look at the demand for vaccines from the new crown epidemic, and companies should also rationally look at the issues of capacity demand and capacity expansion
.
Vaccines have never been produced on such a large scale in the world, and it is normal for the supply to be tight
.
Now we are in a state of short supply, but when supply and demand are balanced, it will be whoever is good for everyone.
There is a competitive mechanism in the market.
This is a natural process
.

       Jiemian News: When did CanSino Bio launch the inhaled new crown vaccine? How is the current progress?

       Yu Xuefeng: We have accumulated this scientific research technology for seven or eight years.
The current viral vector was introduced in 2012.
Soon after the introduction, we wanted to do mucosal immunity through airway mucosal immunity
.
At that time, with the support of the Gates Foundation, some animal experiments on tuberculosis vaccines were done, and the results were very good
.

       This new crown epidemic is also a respiratory infectious disease.
The inhaled new crown vaccine is inhaled through the respiratory tract and sticks to the mucosal surface.
The surface of the respiratory mucosa produces antibodies, which is highly protective
.
This is also a way.
The key is that this method of drug delivery does not require injections, consumes less raw materials, and is more efficient
.

       The inhaled new crown vaccine was launched last year in the first clinical phase, and we are very confident about this
.

       Jiemian News: After the experience of this new crown epidemic, as a vaccine company, if a new virus emerges, how will CanSinoBio respond?

       Yu Xuefeng: In fact, after the development of the new coronavirus vaccine, our response mechanism has become faster
.
Vaccine research and development is built on the vaccine platform, and we ourselves focus on the technology platform.
Once a technology platform is established, multiple products can be developed based on it
.

       At present, our vaccine is a type 5 adenovirus vector.
Broadly speaking, if we can make a type 5 adenovirus vector vaccine, we can also make a chimpanzee adenovirus vaccine, or any other adenovirus vector.
We can even do acne.
Viral vector
.
Because we have made an adenovirus vaccine, we will have experience and understanding of it.
If other epidemics break out, we will immediately select the appropriate technology platform to do this work
.

       Everyone is talking about mRNA.
mRNA is a universal technology, and many therapeutic products have been made
.
The new crown epidemic is actually a good opportunity
.
CanSino Bio also has its own mRNA platform, but when the new crown came, it did not choose mRNA technology because we felt that the more mature was the existing adenovirus vector
.
We have many different vaccine technology platforms, and different technology platforms can develop different products
.

       Including that everyone is currently discussing the mutation of the new coronavirus.
In fact, after the virus has mutated, it should be confirmed that the protection of the existing vaccine does not exist.
If the vaccine is very low in neutralizing the virus, the vaccine will not work.
The new crown vaccine is no problem against most mutated viruses, but the virus changes every day.
In fact, as long as a gene is changed, a new vaccine product can be expressed
.