China Fast-Tracks Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Development

Peng Zhiyong (L), head of the department of critical care medicine of Zhongnan Hospital, and Huang Shuli, who is on the mend, bid Chinese Lunar New Year greetings to each other in the ICU of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

SHANGHAI (Xinhua) — The project for the development of an mRNA vaccine targeting the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been urgently approved, said Shanghai East Hospital of Tongji University.

The vaccine will be co-developed by the hospital and Stermirna Therapeutics Co., Ltd.

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Li Hangwen, CEO of Stermirna Therapeutics, said no more than 40 days will be needed to manufacture the vaccine samples based on the new generation of mRNA technology and some preliminary procedures.

The samples will be sent for tests and brought to clinics as soon as possible.

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The production cycle of traditional vaccines can be as long as five to six months, whereas the mRNA vaccine has the advantage of a shorter development and production cycle.