World's First Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine Production Workshop Passes National Bio-Safety Test

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine production workshop of the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd of China National Biotec Group Company Limited (CNBG) has passed the national joint biological safety test and is ready for service.

The workshop is the first and currently the largest of its kind in the world and has obtained a production certificate for inactivated COVID-19 vaccine in advance.

The workshop has been highly valued by China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm) and CNBG.

Firmly following the biological safety specifications and standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the workshop was designed by experienced experts from around the world and advanced international experiences were taken into account during construction. Its operation and maintenance will be carried out in accordance with the bio-safety P3 level requirements.

With the support of the Beijing government, the workshop was completed within two months, which was as fast as the building of the Huoshenshan Hospital – the makeshift hospital in Wuhan of Central China's Hubei province, the hardest-hit region of the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

In mid July, the workshop was tested by relevant national departments in China and was subsequently announced ready for mass production of COVID-19 vaccine.

Also in July, the integrated high-level bio-safety facility and laboratory affiliated to CNBG's Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd was also delivered and is now awaiting inspection.

Once the facility is operable the institute will be the only enterprise to own a comprehensive high-level bio-safety research lab and production facility in the world.

The two production workshops in Beijing and Wuhan are expected to produce 220 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines annually when they both are in operation.

The workshop is a strong support in the critical period when COVID-19 vaccine is in large demand and will play a safe and reliable role in possible epidemics in the future.

CNBG, a subsidiary of Sinopharm, has been devoted to diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the COVID-19 since the epidemic began.

In addition to the high-level bio-safety production facilities, the company had also developed a series of innovative solutions to the epidemic such as a fast and portable nucleic acid test kit, plasma therapy and specific immune globulin and inactivated COVID-19 vaccines.

The company will continue to contribute to the anti-epidemic battle in China and around the world by improving bio-safe management of the facilities and guaranteeing safe, effective and accessible research, development and production of a COVID-19 vaccine.

An employee of Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd works in the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine production workshop. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine produced by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]

(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)