A potential coronavirus vaccine being developed by Adelaide scientists has cleared the first phase of human trials and could be available in “three or four months.”
Named COVAX-19, the drug was found to be safe and generated an immune response in participants after being injected into 40 volunteers earlier this month.
Developed by company Vaxine and researchers at Flinders University, the vaccine is the first candidate to clear phase one trials in Australia.
It’s also one of only a handful that have progressed beyond the first phase of human trials in the world.
Appearing on Sunrise, Professor Nikolai Petrovsky described the update as “very exciting.”
“Safety data from the clinical trials shows the vaccine isn’t showing any problems at all and is inducing the right type of immune response,” he said.
Phase two trials for COVAX-19, set to involve between 400 and 500 volunteers, are scheduled to begin in September.
“Now we do much bigger clinical trials in a larger number of individuals to prove the vaccine is working,” Petrovsky added.
The professor said he is already negotiating with the UK and Canadian governments on funding phase three of the trial, which would see up to 50,000 volunteers given the drug.
“That’s the final step before making it available to everyone.”
Petrovsky says if all goes well, the drug could be available to the general public within “three or four months”.
He said the Australian government had “knocked back” his request for help funding the trial.
Source: 7news.com.au
