(Yicai Global) Feb. 14 -- Shares of Clover Biopharmaceuticals surged after the Chinese biotech company announced the release of its new Covid-19 jab as part of China’s vaccine booster program. 

After climbing almost 24 percent in the early afternoon, Clover Biopharm [HKG: 2197] finished 8 percent higher at HKD2.57 (32.7 US cents) a share today. 

The Chengdu-based company’s self-developed Covid recombinant protein shots are already on the market, it said in a statement today. The first dose was administered in Changxing county in the city of Huzhou, Zhejiang province.

Preparations for launching the vaccine in other provinces have started, the firm said, and it is expected to be widely available in this quarter. The jab was approved for emergency use in early December, and will be used as the second booster dose -- the fourth dose in total. 

The company, which registered in the Cayman Islands, said clinical trials had shown the vaccine has a broad neutralization effect on “multiple omicron subvariants,” and that it can be used on elderly people, immunocompromised individuals and those with co-morbidities. 

Editor: Tom Litting