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SARS Vaccine Set for Human Tests

Beijing biotechnology firm Kexing Bioproducts (Sinovac) is ready to test a vaccine against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on humans. SARS cases to date have numbered ~8,000, with ~700 fatalities.

The Sinovac vaccine has been successfully tested on animals, but the company is waiting for the World Health Organization to review the technique with respect to safety and side-effects.

Numerous laboratories around the world have been attempting to synthesize a SARS vaccine, but Sinovac will likely be the first to be able to conduct human trials.

China's State Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the new testing series SARS vaccine could start as early as mid-December. Formal approval of any vaccine will still probably take more than a year after human trials have proven successful.