Omicron: China speeds up research into vaccines and tests amid progress on recombinant spike protein

China is accelerating research into vaccines and tests to cope with possible future Omicron variant outbreaks amid global concern about its potential damage.

Sino Biological, a Beijing-based company specialising in recombinant protein production, antibody development and the manufacture of test reagents, announced on Thursday it had developed a key part of the recombinant spike protein of the Omicron variant that could be used to test the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and antibodies.