Coronavirus: Australia’s first COVID-19 vaccine trials to begin
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Phase one testing for a COVID-19 vaccine is about to start in Australia, in exactly the third such trial within the world.
Australian clinical trials specialist Nucleus Network will partner with US-based biotechnology company Novavax to start the testing of the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine within the coming weeks.
It will be the primary COVID-19 vaccine to be tested outside the US.
“Nucleus includes a rich history of Phase 1 vaccine trials and a long-standing track-record with Novavax; we are well-positioned to implement rapid testing with first-in-human trials over the approaching weeks,” Nucleus CEO Cameron Johnson said.
“With the capacity to conduct this trial across both our Melbourne and Brisbane clinics, we are going to be assisting Novavax to undertake Phase One trials and way NVX-CoV2373 to potential subsequent development as soon as possible.”
Novavax has previously been to blame for early development efforts on vaccines for SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), two other coronavirus epidemics.
“The urgent global race to develop a vaccine against the COVID-19 pandemic drove our rapid identification and selection of an optimal, highly immunogenic vaccine candidate,” Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said.
“We are pleased that Nucleus, our long-time partner, was able to accommodate our accelerated timeline.”
The phase one trial is anticipated to start in mid-May, with preliminary results by July.
Source: Nine News Australia
