The Malaysian Insight

THE Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd, a fairly new player in the Covid-19 vaccine realm, could be one of the vaccine candidates to hit the market once private vaccination commences. 

MYEG Services Bhd (MYEG) recently told Bursa Malaysia that the firm has signed a letter of intent with Anhui Zhifei Biopharmaceutical Co Ltd (Zhifei) for the supply of 10 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. 

“The board of directors of the company wishes to announce that the company had, on June 25, signed a letter of intent with Anhui Zhifei Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to purchase 10 million doses of Zhifei’s vaccine, ensuring that the corresponding quantity of the vaccine is reserved for delivery as early as August 2021.”

“The cost of the vaccines will be determined later subsequent to obtaining the conditional authorisation by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency,” the group’s board said in a bourse filing. 

The Malaysian Insight has reached out to Health Minister Dr Adham Baba to seek confirmation whether an application for approval has been submitted to the NPRA. 

Here are some details about the Anhui Zhifei vaccine:

What is the type of vaccine?

It is a recombinant protein subunit vaccine. The recombinant vaccine technology has been used in vaccines for several diseases such as hepatitis B and shingles.

Recombinant protein vaccines can be easily mass produced as it does not require high-grade biosafety laboratories. 

The jabs are cost effective and are easy to store and transport.

Who developed it?

The vaccine was jointly developed by the Institute of Microbiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMBCAMS) and Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. 

This is however not linked to the vaccine candidate by IMBCAMS’ trial in Malaysia earlier this year.

How many shots needed?

Three shots have been recommended with a one month interval between each dose. 

Xinhua quoted Dai Lianpan, a member of the vaccine development team, as saying that the two doses will produce neutralising antibody levels that are just slightly lower than those of recovered patients. 

Dai added that a third dose will double the levels of antibody and produce a more lasting immune effect.

How many doses administered so far?

The vaccine was authorised for emergency use by Chinese health authorities on March 10.

The first batch was completed on May 3.

According to Bernama, more than 60 million doses have been dispensed in more than a dozen provincial-level regions in China including Beijing. 

The jab is also being used in Uzbekistan.

What do clinical trials say?

According to a report by Xinhua, 83% of the participants of the phase two clinical trials produced neutralising antibodies after two doses of the vaccine, while 97% produced neutralising antibodies after three doses.

The participants were aged between 18 and 59.

As for those aged 60 and above, the seroconversion rate of neutralising antibodies reached 95% after three doses, early stage trials showed. 

No serious adverse reactions related to vaccination have been reported.

The trials were also conducted in Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Indonesia. 

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said last month that private vaccination might be available in August to those willing to pay. 

Malaysia is currently administering the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. – July 12, 2021.