Coronavirus: Taiwan vaccine maker confident of success after phase 2 trials
- Medigen Vaccine Biologics says it will apply for emergency use authorisation
- Taiwanese authorities report 263 new local cases and 28 deaths in ongoing outbreak
Announcing the results of its phase 2 clinical trials, Medigen Vaccine Biologics said the vaccine met the safety and efficacy thresholds and the review standards of the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration.
The company said it would apply to the European Medicines Agency and other international health authorities to start large-scale phase 3 clinical trials. Its target is to gain international recognition for the vaccine, it added.
If successful, the shot would be the first locally developed jab to be included in Taiwan’s vaccine portfolio, which is dominated by products that have been approved by the World Health Organization.
“We are very confident,” Medigen executive vice-president Leo Lee said. “The recombinant spike protein vaccine is the most traditional and safest.”
Medigen signed an agreement last May with the US National Institutes of Health, which designed the recombinant spike protein platform. It has the right to develop and commercialise the vaccine worldwide.