Pakistan's Searle announces agreement with China’s Livzon for COVID-19 vaccine

Pakistani pharmaceutical, Searle Company Limited has announced that it has successfully entered into an exclusive licensing and supply agreement with a Chinese pharma ‘Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc’ for the ‘Recombinant Novel COVID-19 vaccine (V - 01).

As per Searle, the license agreement also covers the manufacturing transition of the V-01 vaccine in Pakistan.

“The ‘Recombinant Novel COVID-19 vaccine (V - 01) developed by Livzon has shown promising results in Phase I and II clinical trial. The Phase III clinical study will include multiple countries and enroll more than 20,000 subjects, with the aim to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of V- 01 program,” stated Searle.

Just days ago, China’s medical products regulator approved clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine developed by a subsidiary of Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc.

The protein-based injection, dubbed V-01, could be transported and stored at normal refrigerator temperatures of 2-8 degrees Celsius, Livzon Pharma said in a filing, without giving further details.

Searle said that the V-01 vaccine has many potential advantages such as a “strong safety profile, high neutralizing antibody titre in vivo, long durability and easy to scale up for manufacturing.”

The pharma expressed confidence that in the existing pandemic the relevant authorities will take up the matter on an urgent basis and support for fast-track approval to carry out phase III clinical trials in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc. is a China-based company principally engaged in the research and development, production, and sales of pharmaceutical products.