BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - A Chinese company said it has received approval to start clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine based on mRNA technology, while local media reported that another domestic company has applied to start a similar trial.

CSPC Pharmaceutical Group has been approved by China's medical product regulator to begin a trial of an Covid-19 vaccine named "SYS6006", it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The company said pre-clinical studies demonstrated the vaccine can help neutralise against the Omicron variant of coronavirus. It does not need to be stored at below-freezing temperatures, the company said.

China has inoculated the majority of its population using domestically made coronavirus vaccines based on older inactivated virus technology, but the authorities have not approved any based on mRNA outside the cities of Hong Kong and Macau.

China is battling its worst coronavirus outbreak since early 2020 as the more infectious Omicron variant spreads in large cities including Shanghai.

Separately, Shanghai-based Stemirna Therapeutics has applied to Chinese regulators to conduct a clinical trial of its mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, state-media reported.

The company has built production facilities capable of producing 400 million doses a year, the Cailian financial news service reported.

A Chinese mRNA vaccine developed by Walvax Biotechnology, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and the Chinese military has already entered clinical trials.

But that vaccine may fall short of the benefits generated by shots from Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, a study published in January showed.

China National Pharmaceutical Group, better known as Sinopharm, said on Sunday (April 3) that its second-generation recombinant protein Covid-19 vaccine has received approval from Beijing for clinical trials.

The improved vaccine has already been approved by the United Arab Emirates as a booster shot and enhances immune response to the coronavirus, the company said in December.