South Korea has begun a preliminary review of a COVID-19 vaccine from the University of Oxford being developed by AstraZeneca PLC for possible fast-track approval, Reuters reported.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said in a statement that it had formed a screening team to review the vaccine candidate, and that a formal approval request is expected in 90 days under its rapid approval program for COVID- treatments and vaccines. 19.
The team is reviewing data from non-clinical trials of the vaccine, the ministry said.
The ministry added that as of Monday it had given the green light to some 26 clinical trials for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, by entities such as the pharmaceutical companies Celltrion Inc and Genexine Inc, with seven completed and 19 in progress.
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Monday that trials of its coronavirus vaccine, started by the University of Oxford, had shown “encouraging” responses among the elderly and younger participants.
The potential vaccine, one of 10 worldwide in the most advanced phase III trials, showed “strong immune responses” in all groups of adults during the previous phase, according to an Oxford update.
Japan’s cabinet today approved a plan to use public funds to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the public for free, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to provide enough COVID-19 vaccines for the population by mid-2021. The country has reached deals for hundreds of millions of doses from companies like AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer Inc. (With contributions from the agency)
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