(Yicai Global) June 12 -- Aim Vaccine's stock rose after the Beijing-based firm said its messenger RNA rabies shot for use in humans, China’s first such self-developed vaccine, has been approved for clinical trials.

Aim’s shares [HKG: 6660] ended 5.1 percent higher at HKD45.80 (USD5.85) apiece in Hong Kong today. The benchmark Hang Seng Index was little changed.

China's National Medical Products Administration has given the go-ahead for human trials of the mRNA rabies vaccine, made by one of Aim’s units, the regulator said on its website on June 10.

Rabies is almost 100 percent lethal once clinical symptoms begin, making the virus a severe threat to public health, but getting inoculated as soon as possible after exposure effectively prevents the onset of symptoms.

Nearly 30 million victims of animal bites get vaccinated against rabies worldwide every year, with China the largest market for such vaccines.

The mRNA rabies vaccine is an important product upgrade for Aim, the company told Yicai Global. It has higher immunogenicity, requires fewer doses, is easier to produce, and is safer than traditional jabs, it added.

Trials on animals show that two doses of Aim’s vaccine can give protection against the virus, compared with four or five doses of traditional jabs, according to a thesis the firm published in Virology Journal last November. The survival rate is 100 percent three months after vaccination, it noted.

Platform technologies for mRNA shots are becoming a competitive field for vaccine makers. Domestic firms, including China National Biotec Group, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, and Walvax Biotechnology, focus on mRNA vaccine development in their business strategies.

“The expansion of the mRNA vaccine platform will be used to update and replace old vaccines,” an expert said to Yicai Global. The advantages of mRNA vaccines include the need for fewer doses, higher levels of protection, and longer protection times, the person added.

In addition to Aaim, Everest Medicines, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products, and Chengdu Kanghua Biological Products are also developing mRNA rabies vaccines. Besides these, ones for influenza, Ebola, and respiratory syncytial virus are also likely development paths for mRNA technologies.

Editor: Martin Kadiev