Tianjin, February 20, 2023 – CanSino Biologics Inc. (“CanSinoBIO” or “the Company”) (SSE: 688185, HKEX: 06185) announced that Preprints with The Lancet, a collaboration between the research sharing platform SSRN and The Lancet, recently published^[1] the phase IIb trial results of CanSinoBIO’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (“CS-2034”). The results of the study indicated that heterologous boosting with CS-2034 induced higher levels of immune responses against different SARS-CoV-2 variants, and provided better protection against Omicron infection than homologous boosting in adults aged 18 and above, who have received three prior doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s a randomized, partial-blind, parallel-controlled study (ChiCTR2200064575) in healthy participants aged 18 years or older who had received three-dose of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines at least 6 months before enrollment. In the study, CS-2034 demonstrated a favorable safety and immunogenicity profile. The elicited neutralizing antibody titer against BA.5 peaked at Day 7 following the mRNA booster shot, which is 29-fold higher than that induced by a homologous inactivated booster. During the course of the study, there was an outbreak in China driven mostly by Omicron BA.5.2 and BF.7 subvariants, and a superiority of efficacy was observed in comparison with the inactivated booster.

CanSinoBIO’s mRNA technology platform is equipped with its proprietary sequence optimization software that can effectively identify key gene loci and improve antigen expression. As one of CanSinoBIO’s five core technology platforms, the Company’s mRNA platform has significant advantages in R&D as it can more easily adapt to new variants to shorten the production cycle, contributing to scalability and faster commercialization of vaccine production. mRNA vaccines have significant potential in a wide range of applications in addition to COVID-19 vaccine, such as the flu vaccine, COVID+flu vaccine, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (“RSV”) vaccine.

Established in July 2021 in Shanghai, CanSinoBIO’s mRNA facility has entered the trial production stage, with a designed production capacity of 100 million doses per year. The Company is currently preparing for the phase III clinical trial study for CS-2034.

[1]Source: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4356787