GENE ONLINE|News &
Opinion
Blog

2021-08-17| Asia-PacificCOVID-19

Vietnam Starts the Country’s First mRNA COVID-19 Human Trial

by Tyler Chen
Share To

Vietnam begins the country’s first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine human trial with ARCT-154, the vaccine developed by the US biotech Arcturus Therapeutics. ARCT-154 is designed to target the WHO-listed Variant of Concern (VOC) of the COVID-19 virus.

 

Positive Preclinical Data Against the Delta Variant

Preclinical data have shown that in non-human primates, ARCT-154 induced 14.4 to 25.9-fold higher neutralizing antibodies against the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma variants. What’s more, it generates 17.8-fold neutralizing antibody titers against the Delta variant, which is considered the most infectious variant at the moment.

 

Expecting to Gain a EUA in December

ARCT-154 will undergo Phase 1/2/3 trials in Vietnam. Led by the Hanoi Medical University, it will recruit 100 people for Phase 1, 300 people for Phase 2, and 20,600 for Phase 3. Arcturus aims for a EUA from the Vietnam Ministry of Health (MoH) at the end of 2021 and expects to produce the first batch in early 2022.

To support the commercial production, the firm has teamed up with Vinbiocare Biotechnology Joint Stock Company (Vinbiocare) to build an mRNA vaccine production site in Vietnam in August.

As Arcturus revealed in its second-quarter financial report, ARCT-154 also commenced a Phase 1/2 trial in Singapore, testing the efficacy and safety as the primary shot and the booster shot for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Other COVID-19 Vaccine Trials in Vietnam

Besides ARCT-154, Vietnam has launched two other COVID-19 vaccine human trials. They are recombinant vaccine Nanocovax by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and inactivated vaccine Covivac by Vietnam’s Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC). Currently, the former is in Phase 3 trial, and the latter is in Phase 2 trial and expected to enter Phase 3 in September.

©www.geneonline.com All rights reserved. Collaborate with us: service@geneonlineasia.com
Related Post
Novavax, Takeda, and BMS To Cut Employees This Year
2023-05-10
R&D
The World’s First mRNA Vaccine to Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
2023-03-14
A New Phase in Drug Development: Programming the Genome
2023-03-02
LATEST
BIO 2023 Coming to Boston, with Over 60 Taiwanese Organizations to Share their Achievements
2023-06-02
2023 ASGCT Annual Meeting: Showcase of Exciting New Research, with a Focus on Clinical Applications
2023-06-02
Pfizer’s RSV Vaccine Gets FDA Approval for Use in Older Adults
2023-05-31
Brazil’s Evolving ESG Landscape from the Amazon to Atlantic Forest
2023-05-31
Should People Looking to Lose Weight Skip Sugar Substitutes?
2023-05-30
Advancing Next-Generation Cancer Metabolic Therapy by Targeting Critical Amino Acid Metabolic Pathways: An Interview with Brian A. Van Tine, MD, PhD
2023-05-26
Rona Therapeutics, Keymed Biosciences Team Up To Develop siRNA Drugs For Kidney Disease
2023-05-25
Scroll to Top