SHANGHAI, July 12 (Reuters) - China's National Medical

Products Administration has given regulatory clearance for CSPC

Pharmaceutical Group's ( CHJTF ) respiratory syncytial virus

(RSV) vaccine candidate to begin human clinical trials, the

drugmaker said.

RSV, which shows symptoms similar to a cold but can be fatal

for young children and older adults, contributed to 17.6% of one

group of patients in Beijing dying within 60 days compared to

7.5% for a group with influenza A virus infection.

Drugs are approved for RSV in China, but there are no

vaccines available.

"The product is at the forefront in the research and

development progress in China," CSPC said in a stock exchange

filing on Thursday.

Like the RSV vaccine from competitor Moderna ( MRNA )

approved in the United States, CSPC's shot SYS6016 is based on

synthetic messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that was popularized

during the Covid-19 pandemic.

CSPC is one of few drugmakers in China to receive global

approvals for Covid-19 mRNA vaccines and the first to roll out

in the world's second-most populous country, which has a rapidly

ageing society. CSPC plans to launch an RSV shot in 2026.

SYS6016 displayed "good protection" against against RSV-A

and RSV-B subtype viral strains with a "good safety profile",

CSPC added. Preclinical studies, it said, showed the shot

induced "long-lasting" antibodies.