Philippine vaccine panel clears China's Sinovac for clinical trials

The Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has cleared China's anti-COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac for clinical trials in the Philippines, according to Food and Drug Administration director general Eric Domingo on Thursday.

Sinovac, however, would still have to secure approval from the Ethics Board before it gets to apply for FDA clearance for the clinical trials, Domingo said.

According to Domingo, VEP reviews Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of the candidate vaccine, while the Ethics Board evaluates the selection for participants for clinical trials, among other safeguards that the vaccine manufacturer provided for the participants.

“Meron na kaming hinihintay na mag-submit, kasi in-endorse na sa amin ng VEP. Iyong sa Sinovac,” Domingo said in an online forum.

Domingo said that Sinovac got VEP’s clearance last Monday.

“Iyong [clearance ng Sinovac sa] Ethics Board, it is still in progress. Ang sabi nila (Sinovac), they will be meeting the Ethics Board this week. Aantayin ang result nun kasi hindi puwedeng maka-start ang [FDA on] any study without Ethics Board approval,” he pointed out.

Timeline

Domingo said FDA evaluation on Sinovac for clinical trials — should it secure approval from the Ethics Board — will span from 14 to 21 days.

Asked if clinical trials for Sinovac can be conducted by November because of its breakthrough clearance from VEP, Domingo said such a timeline is "possible."

“It is possible. Pero depende talaga [kung] kailan sila magsa-submit ng application sa FDA. Nasabihan lang kami ng VEP na may pumasa na sa kanila,” he said.

“We haven’t seen their application yet. Maaaring next week pa sila mag-submit, puwedeng two weeks from now,” he added.

Earlier, Philippine Council for Health Research Development executive director Dr. Jaime Montoya said Sinovac is one of the three manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines that have applied to conduct clinical trials in the country, the other two being Sputnik V and Janssen.

On Monday, however, Johnson & Johnson said it had temporarily paused the clinical trials for its COVID-19  vaccine candidate Janssen due to an unexplained illness in a study participant. 

Money for vaccines

In his televised public address on Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he already has the funds to buy vaccines to immunize Filipinos from COVID-19.

“Nakahanap na ako ng pera. I have the money already for the vaccine, but hahanap pa ako ng maraming pera, because you know there are now 130 million Filipinos,” he said, reiterating that the poor will be given the vaccine first using the list from the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

In the same address, Duterte expressed confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines being developed by China.

“Those of you who are asking me kung safe ba itong China: I can say that China is a modern country and it has all the wherewithal… [its] integrity is fully protected by its achievements,” he said.

Duterte earlier said he would prefer vaccines from China and Russia, lamenting that Western pharmaceutical companies seek advance payments. —KBK, GMA News