Published 15:07 IST, August 5th 2020
COVID-19: Sinovac Biotech applies for phase 3 vaccine trials in Bangladesh
Sinovac Biotech Ltd has reportedly received approval from the Chinese Government to start both phase one and phase two clinical trials in mainland China.
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All major countries in the world are in a race to find vaccines of contagious coronavirus. A Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech has recently asked to start the third phase clinical trial of vaccine testing in Bangladesh. Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Ministry Abdul Mannan reportedly said that Bangladesh will benefit from getting the vaccine. Media reports suggest that the vaccine will be first given to healthcare workers who are fighting at the forefront to curb the spread of the virus and it might take at least six months for the Chinese company to administer the vaccine to the general population of Bangladesh.
Sinovac Biotech’s Development Towards Vaccine
Sinovac Biotech Ltd is a biopharmaceutical company and it has reportedly received approval from the Chinese Government to start both phase one and phase two clinical trials in mainland China. The company recently brought out pre-clinical results of the CoronaVac vaccine, noting that the vaccine candidates were safe and provided protection to rhesus monkeys through an animal challenge study.
After preliminary results of the safety profile of the CoronaVac vaccine in Phase one study, Sinovac started conducting Phase two trial in the month of May, which involved more than 1,000 volunteers. Phase two clinical trial noted that the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in a larger population in order to define dosage, regimen, and immunization schedule. Sinovac got $15 million in funding to boost its coronavirus vaccine search. The company is also constructing a commercial vaccine production plant that may produce up to 100 million doses annually.
Bangladesh today witnessed a rise in deaths after four days. Currently, Bangladesh has 244,000 confirmed cases, 140,000 recoveries, and 3,234 deaths. The nation is fighting is two wars one with the virus and another with an ailing economy.
(Image Credit AP)
15:08 IST, August 5th 2020