China National Biotec Group will have the capacity to produce 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines next year, said the president of the group, Chinanews reported.

CNBG, a unit of state-owned pharmaceutical giant China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), has been recognized as a comprehensive biopharmaceutical enterprise focusing on human vaccines, blood products, medical aesthetics and animal healthcare.

The company's two inactivated vaccine candidates are currently in phase III clinical trials in 10 countries and regions, with nearly 60,000 volunteers enrolled in the program, according to Yang Xiaoming, president of CNBG.

As of Nov 26, a total of 48 COVID-19 vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials worldwide, among which 11 have entered phase III clinical trials, he added. In China, four vaccine candidates are currently in phase III clinical trials, including three inactivated vaccines and one virus-carrier vaccine.

"It has been proved that the serum of the people vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccines developed by CNBG provides cross-neutralization protection against multiple international epidemic strains, indicating the vaccines can play a protective role against novel coronavirus infection in many parts of the world," Yang said.

At present, CNBG's two workshops in Beijing and Wuhan have a combined production capacity of 300 million doses of vaccine per year.