Vaxine eyes COVID-19 vaccine trial in the Philippines –DOST

Australian biotechnology company Vaxine Pty. Ltd. had expressed interest in conducting a clinical trial of a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in the Philippines, Secretary Fortunato dela Peña of the Department of Science of Technology (DOST) said Monday.

“This is fresh information, I just got informed before the opening of the interview [today],” dela Peña said during a Foreign Correspondents of the Philippines (FOCAP) forum.

“The available information passed on to me do not have the full details [yet], but Vaxine has expressed interest in conducting clinical trial and manufacturing [of a vaccine against COVID-19] in the Philippines,” dela Peña added.

Based on the COVID-19 vaccine tracker of The New York Times, Vaxine “developed a vaccine that combines viral proteins with an adjuvant that stimulates the immune system” and its Phase 1 clinical trial began in the middle of this year.

Earlier, the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) had cleared Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac's vaccine for COVID-19 clinical trials in the Philippines.

Sinovac would still have to get approval from the Ethics Board before it gets to apply for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for a clinical trial in the Philippines.

The VEP reviews Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of candidate vaccines, while the Ethics Board evaluates the selection for participants for clinical trials. These were among the safeguards provided for participants in these trials.

The Philippines has 370,028 COVID-19 cases so far. Of this number, 328,036 have recovered while 6,977 died.

There are 35,015 active COVID-19 cases. — DVM, GMA News