DUBAI : Chinese state-owned pharmaceutical company Sinopharm has begun Phase III clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in Abu Dhabi using up to 15,000 volunteers, the government in the capital of the United Arab Emirates said on Thursday.The human trial is a partnership between Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group (CNBG), Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company Group 42 (G42) and the Abu Dhabi Department of Health.The study, which began on Wednesday, is the world's first Phase III trial of an inactivated vaccine, G42 Healthcare CEO Ashish Koshy said.
Inactivated vaccines are well known and have been used against diseases such as influenza and measles.No COVID-19 vaccine has yet been approved for commercial.