Clinical trial for South Korea-manufactured COVID-19 vaccine set for April — official

A clinical trial for a South Korea-manufactured vaccine against COVID-19 will be conducted in the Philippines this month, the chief executive of a local firm said Monday.

Glovax Biotech Corp. CEO Giovanni Alingog said a “combined Phase 2 and Phase 3” trial for the protein subunit vaccine EuCorVac-19 will be held in the country following Phase 1 and 2 trials in South Korea.

Glovax has partnered with South Korea-based EuBiologics Co.

“The reason we wanted to do a clinical trial in the Philippines is most of the companies that were given EUA (emergency use authorization) in our country have not done a clinical trial locally,” Alingog told ANC in an interview.

“The reason we wanted to trial locally is to show, for ethnicity purposes, for Filipinos, that the vaccine is also effective and safe,” he added.

So far, an EUA has been granted to Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac’s CoronaVac, and the Gamaleya Institute’s Sputnik V.

Alingog explained that around 220 individuals in five sites nationwide will participate in the trial.

“Because of the emergency purposes or the need of vaccine, we are asking the clinical research organizations and our FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to fast-track a bit our clinical trial so we can serve the Filipino people with a quality and safe vaccine from Korea,” he said.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said Glovax was working with the Department of Science and Technology to help the country develop a vaccine self-sufficiency program. 

At least four Philippine companies have expressed interest in partnering with foreign drugmakers to produce COVID-19 vaccines locally. 

Over 922,000 individuals have been vaccinated in the Philippines as of April 6. — Julia Mari Ornedo/RSJ, GMA News