BEIJING - China's CanSino Biologics Inc has got green light to continue phase-3 trials of its COVID-19 vaccine with the support of findings of an independent data monitoring committee, said recent media reports.

The independent committee "found the drugmaker's COVID-19 vaccine met its pre-specified primary safety and efficacy targets under an interim analysis of phase-3 trial data," Reuters cited the biopharmaceutical company to report on Monday.

"No adverse events related to the vaccine had occurred," the report said.

The vaccine candidate, referred to as Ad5-nCoV, is developed by CanSino Biologics Inc and the Academy of Military Sciences in China.

CanSino was approved to conduct phase-3 clinical trials in some countries in Europe and Asia, Wu Yuanbin, an official with China's Ministry of Science and Technology, said in September last year.