Chinese SinoVac launched phase III studies of their possible coronavirus vaccine on Monday, it said, becoming one of three companies which moves into late stage in the race to develop a disease inoculation.
In a publication on China’s WeChat message app website, it says, the recruitment of volunteers will begin this month. Brazil gave the company the lead last week in the country to begin volunteer research.
Last paper released on Monday by the World Health Organization (WHO) detailing the status of studies worldwide says SinoVac’s is now in phase III. bit.ly/21diH7 Tick.
The only other candidates in Phase III late-stage trials were AstraZeneca experimental vaccine COVID-19 developed by researchers from the University of Oxford and Sinopharm.
SinoVac is building a vaccine plant that will be ready and able to manufacture up to 100 million shots a year this year.
The safety of the drug is usually checked before Phase I and Phase II trials reach Phase III which measure its efficacy.
19 vaccine studies have been developed and tested around the world to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, killing thousands of people and wrecking the global economy. The clinical evaluation includes several hundred vaccine trials.
There is still no COVID-19 commercial vaccine approved. In the first stage of the testing, one of three vaccines obtained its approval last year, an analysis by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
