US biotechnology company Novavax announced on Thursday that it had begun the final phase of clinical trials of its experimental vaccine against it in the United Kingdom. COVID-19.
The purpose of this test is to involve 10.000 volunteers aged 18 to 84 years.
"Because of the high level of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and given that this is likely to continue to be high in the UK, we are optimistic that this clinical trial will be able to quickly attract volunteers and deliver short-term results as "The effectiveness of the Novavax vaccine," said Gregory Glenn, director of research and development at the company's press release.
This is the eleventh experimental vaccine worldwide to enter the final phase of clinical trials with tens of thousands of participants. Generally in these trials half of the patients are given a placebo, or placebo, and the rest are given the vaccine.
The candidate vaccines thought to have advanced in the West are those of AstraZeneca, which works with the universities of Oxford, Pfizer and Moderna. Chinese and Russian experimental vaccines have also reached the final stage of testing.
Novavax is one of six companies funded by the US government with hundreds of millions of dollars in vaccine development and the fifth to enter Phase 3. It has received more than $ 1,6 billion from the US government to produce 100 million doses.
Source: RES-EAP