(Yicai Global) Nov. 29 -- Sinovac Biotech, developer of the CoronaVac, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, mRNA jab producer, and other Chinese vaccine manufacturers have said that they are paying close attention to the new Covid-19 variant Omicron, identified last week in southern Africa, and have already begun work on a new vaccine.

Sinovac Biotech is very concerned about the Omicron strain, spokesperson Liu Peicheng said. The Beijing-based firm has already obtained samples of the new variant through its global partner network. It will evaluate as soon as possible the efficacy of existing vaccines on the Omicron strain and the need to develop new vaccines.

Abogen Bio has been researching a new vaccine since the evening of Nov. 26, Chairman Ying Bo said.

It remains to be seen whether the Omicron variant will cause a higher rate of severe illness and death, Wu Ke, founder and chief executive of BravoVax, told Yicai Global. If the original vaccine fails, it needs to be updated. Whether there is a need to restart large-scale clinical trials, or if a bridge trial will suffice, depends on different vaccine technologies.

“For the development of a new-generation jab, we can improve the vaccine design according to the characteristics of the virus sequence to enhance protection and can also explore the development of broad-spectrum vaccines,” said Peng Tao, chairman of South China Vaccine.

Publicly listed vaccine makers gained today. Cansino Biologics’ share price [SHA:688185] closed up 5.3 percent at CNY279.90 (USD44) and China National Medicines advanced 2.6 percent to finish at CNY31.20 (USD5).

Editor: Kim Taylor