China's drug authority has granted emergency use approval to a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products, the company said on Friday.

In a statement, Kangtai said it is currently conducting Phase III trials for the inactivated vaccine.

It is the sixth approved vaccine after two from Sinopharm, one from Sinovac, one from CanSino and one from  the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMCAS).

Kangtai has also obtained the exclusive right to develop and manufacture the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University on the Chinese mainland.