Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Sinovac) recently announced that the Center for Disease Control of China and Sinovac are jointly working on the latest Key Science-Technology Project of the National 'Tenth Five-Year-Plan' of China, called "Research and Development of a New Human Influenza Vaccine".

Sinovac has already finished the research protocol and has started working towards a vaccine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) influenza network is likely to provide the prototype bird flu virus by the end of March and will make it available to vaccine makers around the world, according to Roy Wadia, from the WHO representative office in China. As one of the vaccine makers, Sinovac is expecting to receive the virus strain from the WHO for its New Human Influenza Vaccine Research & Development Project.

Furthermore, on March 1 and 2, 2004, professionals from the WHO came to China for an "International Workshop on the Development of Vaccines for SARS and New Human Influenza Vaccines". During the meeting, experts from Sinovac and more than 20 WHO professionals made presentations and discussed further collaboration about Inactivated SARS Vaccine and split Avian Flu vaccine development. The WHO officials expressed their willingness to assist with the development of an avian flu vaccine. The World Health Organization also expressed positive approval of Sinovac's plan for clinical tests of its newly developed SARS vaccine.