A sixth experimental coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine from China is now getting tested in the humans after the Clover Biopharmaceuticals mentioned on Friday an early-stage study of its candidate got underway with the vaccine boosters from GSK of UK and Dynavax based in the US.
The trial that got enrolled with around 150 adult and elderly patients, is going to evaluate the two different boosters, or adjuvants, combining with Clover's candidate shot, SCB-2019, the Chinese company mentioned.
Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine Is Now Getting Tested
There are no approved vaccines or treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, but about a dozen vaccines are being trialed globally as drugmakers and governments scramble to combat the health crisis.
Clover said initial safety data from the study was expected in August this year, and it would target to start broader studies by the end of this year. China now accounts for almost half of the clinical trials testing COVID-19 vaccines, including candidates from CanSino Biological, and Sinopharm and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.
GSK, the world's largest vaccine maker, on Friday underscored its commitment to backing a conventional immunization approach. It has mainly acted as a contributor of adjuvants, or efficacy boosters, that are combined with proteins called antigens that help build immunity. Clover and the British drugmaker began their collaboration for a coronavirus vaccine in February this year and the Chinese firm partnered with Dynavax the following month.
(With agency inputs)
