CanSino and Zhifei have received the regulatory green light for their respective COVID-19 booster shots in China and an estimated $1.3bn vaccine market is now up for grabs. Domestic contenders are set to elbow each other in the sector with a range of viral vector, recombinant protein and mRNA-based jabs.

The listings of two vaccine manufacturers and fundraisings by seven other biopharma ventures generate around $1.2bn in new financing for Chinese companies focusing on a broad variety of therapeutic areas and indicating continued investor interest. 

US FDA can’t say whether it will have its vaccine advisors vote on the heterologous uses of booster doses at its 14-15 October meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee because it is still reviewing the data. The Agency does not appear to need a formal company application or emergency use authorization amendment to allow this type of boosting.

England’s NICE has given its backing to the use of Regeneron’s Ronapreve, and the UK’s new health security body is now fully up and running.