An opening ceremony was held at Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong  to launch a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the omicron-specific COVID-19 inactivated vaccine as used for a booster dose healthy adults in anticipation of providing scientific evidence for future vaccination strategies. This study is led by a medical research team from the University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Center (HKU-CTC) in collaboration with Gleneagles.

A total of 300 healthy adult volunteers aged 18 years and older who have been vaccinated twice or thrice with the inactivated or mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will be recruited as part of this study.

“As we know, vaccination is one of the most effective ways to deal with infectious diseases. At present, Omicron is constantly infesting the world. I hope the clinical study can strengthen and effectively promote vaccine research and immunization administration," said Professor Ivan Hung Fan-ngai, Ru Chien and Helen Lieh, Professor in Health Sciences Pedagogy, Clinical Professor and Chief of Infectious Diseases and Assistant Dean of Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Assistant Dean (Admissions), LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) during the ceremony.

"We are delighted to be one of HKU's research sites to be an important part of this clinical project and to contribute to the ongoing research and development of vaccines and vaccination strategies to further improve human health protection," said Dr. Kenneth Tsang.

“It is of great importance to be able to work with Professor Hung, HKU-CTC, and Gleneagles to conduct the COVID-19 killed vaccine clinical trial as a booster measure against the omicron variant. Based on the results of this study, we hope to find a solution for Hong Kong and the entire world in the fight against the new virus," said Cheryl Law, SINOVAC's International Business Development Director.

SINOVAC received a sample of the omicron variant in early December and then actively promoted the research and development of its COVID-19 killed vaccine (omicron-specific variant). Preclinical research has shown that the vaccine is safe and effective in animals. The omicron variant boosting clinical study was subsequently approved by the HKU GHK Institutional Review Board (IRB) on April 12, 2022 and by the Hong Kong Pharmacy and Poisons Board on April 14, 2022. This allowed the clinical trial of boosting people's immunity to the novel coronavirus variant to be conducted in Hong Kong.

About Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

SINOVAC Biotech Ltd. (SINOVAC) is a China-based leading pharmaceutical company focused on the research, manufacture and marketing of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases. SINOVAC's product portfolio includes vaccines against emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19, H5N1 pandemic influenza (bird flu), H1N1 influenza (swine flu) and Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and other common infectious diseases such as viral hepatitis, seasonal influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, poliomyelitis, chickenpox and mumps. SINOVAC is also exploring opportunities in international markets, exporting its vaccines to dozens of countries and for international organizations. For more information about SINOVAC, visit www.sinovac.com.

About HKU Clinical Trials Centre

The University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Center (HKU-CTC) is a central clinical research management platform dedicated to supporting the professional execution of clinical research projects led by HKUMed. Since its inception, the HKU-CTC has facilitated more than a thousand sponsored clinical trials and investigator-initiated trials in collaboration with sponsors and investigators around the world.

About Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong

Located in Wong Chuk Hang in the south of Hong Kong Island, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong (Gleneagles) is a 500-bed interdisciplinary private hospital offering state-of-the-art medical technologies and a full range of clinical services spanning more than 35 medical specialties and subspecialties. As Hong Kong's premier private teaching hospital, Gleneagles also contributes to the training and development of medical professionals and the advancement of clinical research. Gleneagles is a joint venture between IHH Healthcare and NWS Holdings Limited and the University of Hong Kong as its exclusive clinical partner. For more information about Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, please visit https://www.gleneagles.hk/ .

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Contacts
Inquiries from media representatives

Sinovac Biotech Ltd.
Will Chan
Tel.: +852 61408385
E-Mail: will.chan@sinovac.com

HKU Clinical Trials Centre
Cathy Shen
Tel.: +852 2255 2553
E-Mail: cathyswi@hku.hk

Gleneagles Hospital Hongkong
Tracy Chow
Tel.: +852 3153 9330
E-Mail: tracy.chow@gleneagles.hk

 

Source:businesswire.com

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