(Yicai Global) Aug. 18 -- China National Pharmaceutical Group, better known as Sinopharm, expects to bring its first inactivated coronavirus vaccine to market by the end of this year and it will be attractively priced, according to the firm’s chairman.

Developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a unit of Sinopharm, the jab began phase-three clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates in June, Guangming Daily reported, citing Liu Jingzhen.

Two 4-microgram doses should cost no more than CNY1,000 (USD144), Liu said.

The first dose should be 97 percent effective in about two weeks and after the second, the efficacy rate should reach 100 percent, Liu said. "I got two doses and had no adverse reactions,” he added.

Beijing-based Sinopharm has put its eggs in many baskets as it is pursuing two inactivated coronavirus vaccines, as well as one genetically modified shot. It has invested about CNY2 billion (USD288.5 million) to build production capacity, said Liu.

In the beginning, output at the Beijing Institute of Biological Products should reach 120 million inactivated vaccine doses a year. Regulators have already given the facility the green light. Another unit, the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, could make 100 million doses of an inoculation that has already passed phase-two clinical trials.

The third genetically modified vaccine, developed by the National Vaccine & Serum Institute, is expected to start clinical trials in October and if successful, it could be quickly mass-produced, Liu said. 

But not everyone in China may need to get protected against the virus, according to Liu.

“It’s not necessary for each and every one of China’s population of 1.4 billion people to get vaccinated,” he said. “It’s necessary for students and people who work in densely populated cities, but not for those who live in sparsely populated rural areas.”

Editor: Emmi Laine