(Yicai Global) Nov. 11 -- Shares in CanSino Biologics surged, then plunged today as investors cashed in, after the Chinese vaccine maker said that its inhalation-based novel coronavirus vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Morocco.

CanSino’s Shanghai share price [SHA:699185] closed down 15.5 percent at CNY215.30 (USD30). Earlier in the day it soared 15.6 percent to CNY295.80, the highest point since mid-January. In Hong Kong, its stock [HKG:6185] sank 8.9 percent to close at HKD106.70 (USD13.62). But it jumped 24.5 percent earlier in the day to HKD146, the highest since March.

The stock has gained over two-and-a-half-fold in value in Shanghai and more than tripled in Hong Kong since the middle of October after the world’s first nasal spray vaccine was given the go-ahead in early September to be used as a booster shot in China.

The emergency use approval from the Moroccan government will enhance CanSino’s brand awareness abroad, expand its overseas markets and promote the use of the vaccine in other countries, the Tianjin-based company said yesterday.

The Convidecia oral spray vaccine, which is needle-free and does not need to be stored in special bottles or at ultra-low temperatures, has been available in Shanghai, Tianjin and eastern Jiangsu province since the end of October. It has also been approved to undergo clinical trials in Malaysia, the company said earlier this year.

The vaccine, which is based on the same formula as the firm’s recombinant coronavirus jab, started clinical trials in March last year. It has been shown to produce antibodies specific to the omicron BA.1 variant that remain in the body for more than half a year, the firm said in July.

Editor: Kim Taylor