Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. said Thursday that 4,000 participants in three countries have been recruited for the Phase 3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, which is being sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Medigen’s vaccine was selected from a pool of 20 for inclusion in the WHO’s Phase 3 Solidarity Trial Vaccines (STV), and the Phase 3 trial will be conducted in the Philippines, Colombia, and Mali by their respective health ministries, according to the WHO.
In a statement Thursday, Medigen said that so far, a total of 4,000 volunteers in the three countries have already enrolled for the trial, which will be carried out at 40 different locations.
The company said it expects to recruit 20,000 people in total to receive its COVID-19 protein-based subunit vaccine, and another 20,000 volunteers to receive the placebo.
The WHO’s STV is an international individually randomized controlled Phase 3 clinical trial that aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of promising new COVID-19 vaccines.
Medigen’s vaccine was selected by an independent vaccine prioritization advisory group of leading scientists and experts as one of two vaccines to be included in the global trial, and the announcement was made on Oct. 26.
The other vaccine chosen for the trial platform is a DNA vaccine by Inovio Pharmaceuticals in the American state of Pennsylvania.
While the Medigen vaccine has not yet gone to Phase 3 trial, it was rolled out in Taiwan on Aug. 23, with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) among those receiving the first shots.
More than 250 million COVID-19 infections have been reported worldwide since the start of the pandemic, while more than 5 million deaths from the disease have been recorded so far.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel