(Yicai Global) Feb. 15 -- Sinocelltech Group said China’s capital city has begun using its recombinant Covid-19 vaccine.

Beijing started administering Anonen 2 to residents of the city a few days ago, the Beijing-based biotech company announced on its website late yesterday.

Anonen 2 is one of four Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use by the State Drug Administration in early December. The regulator recommends taking the vaccine as a second booster shot.

Clinical trials showed that Anonen 2 has outstanding safety and immune persistence advantages against Covid-19 variants comparable to Pfizer’s mRNA jab, Sinocelltech noted. The vaccine can prevent infections from variants such as omicron and reduce the incidence of severe illness and mortality, it added.

Sinocelltech’s annual production capacity of vaccine solution reached several billion doses, which can ensure a stable supply, Beijing Daily reported today. A unit of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holdings is responsible for Anonen 2 sales in other parts of China.

Shares of Sinocelltech [SHE: 688520] closed up 1.4 percent at CNY75.50 (USD11.03) today. The Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.4 percent lower.

Editor: Futura Costaglione