TAIPEI (Taiwan News) ? After Adimmune Corporation announced Wednesday (May 6) it would soon launch human trials for a vaccine it is developing, a Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) medical expert said the initial results of the biotech company's animal trials look promising but that further research into the toxicology and possible side effects needs to be conducted before human trials can begin.
In a press conference, Adimmune announced that experiments on rats have shown the animals to be in possession of strong antibodies after being injected with the vaccine. The company is aiming to begin human trials in the second half of the year, per CNA.
Meanwhile, the CECC's Chang Shan-chwen (???) said that currently several biotech companies and research institutes have been racing to develop a vaccine for COVID-19; some of them have made progress, including Adimmune, which has conducted animal experiments. The success of these tests depends on whether the animals develop enough antibodies, he added.
Even if they were to develop the antibodies, Chang said, hurdles would still linger in the path to successful vaccine development, like possible side effects and toxicology; therefore, more tests are required. Only when these hurdles are cleared can human trials be allowed to take place, so it takes time, he added.
He went on to say that that he hopes domestic companies can successfully develop a vaccine and make it available to all Taiwanese.
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