(Yicai Global) Feb. 10 -- Almost 20 Chinese companies, including Kangtai Biological Products and Guanhao Biotech, are striving to create the world's first vaccine against the new coronavirus.

Researchers in these 17 firms have been working around the clock, trying to develop inactivated, DNA, subunit, and viral vector vaccines as of Feb. 6, the China Association for Vaccines said in a report posted on WeChat yesterday. 

The novel coronavirus epidemic that started spreading from Central China's Hubei province has claimed 909 lives and infected over 40,200 people in the country.

Kangtai's stock price [SHE: 300601] climbed nearly 8 percent this morning to CNY109.84 (USD15.71) after the Shenzhen-based company said yesterday that it has joined hands with Beijing's Advaccine Biotechnology to speed up the vaccine development process. But success would not yet show in this year's business performance, it added. 

Guanhao announced on Feb. 3 that it is teaming up with North Carolina's ZY Therapeutics to make a DNA vaccine for the same purpose. Its shares [SHE: 300238] walked back some of their gains accumulated over last week today.

Zhifei Biological Products said on Feb. 2 that the Chongqing-based firm has similar business ambitions, supported by an institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its stock price [SHE: 300122] rose 2.6 percent to CNY64.40 (USD9.21) this morning.

Editor: Emmi Laine