KARACHI: China will supply a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by a unit of the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) to Pakistan as part of a trial agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. State-owned Sinopharm is set to work with the University of Karachi on vaccine trials, according to the WSJ report, which said Pakistan will receive enough doses early in distribution to vaccinate about one-fifth of its population.

The initial doses will be used to vaccinate the most vulnerable among the Pakistani population including the elderly, healthcare workers and people with medical conditions associated with serious cases of Covid-19, the report added. Earlier in April, Sinopharm had invited the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, to collaborate in conducting clinical trials of its inactivated vaccine for Covid-19 in Pakistan.

In a letter sent to NIH Executive Director Maj-Gen Dr Aamer Ikram, the general manager of China Sinopharm International Corp., Li Can, had expressed the hope that "a successful clinical trial in Pakistan will make it one of [the] first few countries for the launch of a Covid-19 vaccine".

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020