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A worker conducts a quality check at the packaging facility of Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinovac Biotech.
Image Credit: Reuters
Sinovac Biotech may begin late-stage testing of its coronavirus vaccine in the Philippines starting next month, the head of the food and drug agency said on Thursday, after passing the initial stage of the country’s screening process.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expects to receive the Chinese drugmaker’s formal application for phase three clinical trials within two weeks and regulators will make a decision after their evaluation, said FDA Director Rolando Enrique Sunday.
Domingo told reporters that the start of a trial in November was “possible.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte repeated on Wednesday that he preferred his country to obtain its COVID-19 vaccines from China or Russia.
He also said he wanted the entire population to be vaccinated and had previously said he would not reopen schools until a vaccine is available.
A spokesperson for Sinovac confirmed that materials had been provided to the Philippines in hopes of starting Phase 3 testing, but did not give a deadline.
Jaime Montoya, a member of a panel of experts examining applications for clinical trials and drugs, told Reuters that a technical evaluation of Sinovac had been completed and the results had already been submitted to an ethics board for review.
The Philippines is also evaluating COVID-19 vaccines from Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen for late-stage trials and is speaking with US pharmaceuticals Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc as potential suppliers.
The Southeast Asian nation has 346,536 confirmed COVID-19, the highest in the region, and 6,449 deaths.
