Testing of the vaccine on mice (Photo: VNA)Do Minh Sy, R&D Director of the vaccine producer - Nanogen PharmaceuticalBiotechnology JSC, said on December 9 that the company’s COVID-19 vaccineresearch and production project has been carried out since March and Nanocovaxhas been developed based on recombinant protein technology.
Like any medicine or vaccine, Nanocovax hasundergone development stages and strict tests, he noted, adding that it hasbeen tested on laboratory mice, hamsters, and monkeys, and shown “verypositive” results, so the firm decided to apply for human trials.
With the Ministry of Health’s permission, the first phase of human trials beginningon December 17 will involve 60 people aged between 18 and 50 and in goodhealth.
After about two to four weeks, they will be tested for COVID-19 antibodies andmove to the second phase, which is set to begin in January next year with about400 volunteers aged 18 to 60.
The third stage will cover 3,000 people between12 and 70 years of age and begin in March, Sy said.
If the human trials are successful, the firmwill manufacture some 2 million doses on a trial basis in the form of injections,nasal spray, and eye drops, to meet the needs of different age groups. Itsmaximum production capacity is about 50 million doses a year, according to Sy.
Apart from Nanocovax, Vietnam has several other COVID-19 candidate vaccinesbeing developed, by Vabiotech, Polyvac, and the Institute of Vaccines andMedical Biologicals./.
VNA
