BEIJING (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - China National Biotec Group will have the capacity to produce one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines next year, said the president of the group, Chinanews reported.

CNBG, a unit of state-owned pharmaceutical giant China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), has been recognised as a comprehensive biopharmaceutical enterprise focusing on human vaccines, blood products, medical aesthetics and animal healthcare.

The company's two inactivated vaccine candidates are currently in phase 3 clinical trials in 10 countries and regions, with nearly 60,000 volunteers enrolled in the programme, according to Mr Yang Xiaoming, president of CNBG.

As at Nov 26, a total of 48 Covid-19 vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials worldwide, among which 11 have entered phase 3 clinical trials, he added.

In China, four vaccine candidates are currently in phase 3 clinical trials, including three inactivated vaccines and one virus-carrier vaccine.

"It has been proven that the serum of the people vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccines developed by CNBG provides cross-neutralisation protection against multiple international epidemic strains, indicating the vaccines can play a protective role against novel coronavirus infection in many parts of the world," Mr Yang said.

At present, CNBG's two workshops in Beijing and Wuhan have a combined production capacity of 300 million doses of vaccine per year.