Testing of the vaccine on mice (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – , a Made-in-Vietnam
vaccine against , will be used on humans in a from December
17.
Do Minh Sy, R&D Director of the vaccine producer – Nanogen Pharmaceutical
Biotechnology JSC, said on December 9 that the company’s COVID-19 vaccine
research and production project has been carried out since March and Nanocovax
has been developed based on recombinant protein technology.
Like any medicine or vaccine, Nanocovax has
undergone development stages and strict tests, he noted, adding that it has
been tested on laboratory mice, hamsters, and monkeys, and shown “very
positive” results, so the firm decided to apply for human trials.
With the Ministry of Health’s permission, the first phase of human trials beginning
on December 17 will involve 60 people aged between 18 and 50 and in good
health.
After about two to four weeks, they will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies and
move to the second phase, which is set to begin in January next year with about
400 volunteers aged 18 to 60.
The third stage will cover 3,000 people between
12 and 70 years of age and begin in March, Sy said.
If the human trials are successful, the firm
will manufacture some 2 million doses on a trial basis in the form of injections,
nasal spray, and eye drops, to meet the needs of different age groups. Its
maximum production capacity is about 50 million doses a year, according to Sy.
Apart from Nanocovax, Vietnam has several other COVID-19 candidate vaccines
being developed, by Vabiotech, Polyvac, and the Institute of Vaccines and
Medical Biologicals./.
Source: VietnamPlus
