Sinovac gets approval for China's first serum-free rabies vaccine

Chinese vaccine maker Sinovac Biotech said on Thursday it had received regulatory approval for a freeze-dried human rabies vaccine that uses a serum-free, animal component-free manufacturing process and supports a shortened four-dose vaccination schedule recommended by the World Health Organization.

The vaccine received a drug registration certificate from the National Medical Products Administration, the company said in a statement.

Sinovac said the product is China's first serum-free rabies vaccine approved for both the conventional five-dose regimen and the WHO-recommended "abridged" four-dose schedule for post-exposure prophylaxis. The four-dose regimen requires injections on days 0, 3, 7 and between days 14 and 28, allowing the primary vaccination course to be completed in as little as 14 days.

Rabies is a viral disease that is almost invariably fatal once symptoms develop, making timely vaccination after exposure critical. Sinovac said it has also begun overseas development of the vaccine, including a product development partnership with the government of Brazil and multiple international clinical studies in Pakistan.