A Chinese pharmaceutical company has offered National Institute of Health (NIH) to jointly conduct clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan.
In a letter named after NIH Executive Director Maj Gen Dr Aamer Ikram by the general manager of China Sinopharm International Corp. – Li Can, expressed his companies will to collaborate with Pakistani officials to successfully test and launch the first ever COVID-19 vaccine.
“We want to increase the trend of clinical trials in the country. There are a number of laws before it can start; it has to be approved by the ethics committee, et al, but we will start when we get the clearance,” read the letter.
“In the process we developed a lot of practical insights that we would like to share with you,” it added.
According to sources, NIH’s Dr Ikran has appreciated the proposal stating that if the clinical trials are successful, Pakistan will immensely benefit from it as it will be an automatic priority client due to joint venture.
The Chinese company has proposed that its representative HealthBee Projects Private Limited, NIH and the company itself must sign a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) to initiate the Phase I and Phase II clinical trials without any further delay.
The letter also requests NIH for its assistance in acquiring necessary approvals and permits from health ministry and DRAP.
