Chinese COVID-19 vaccine set for human trials in Australia

An Australian research clinic revealed on Tuesday it will seek volunteers to trial a COVID-19 vaccine developed by China-based global biotechnology company, Clover Biopharmaceuticals.

Linear Clinical Research which is based in Perth, Western Australia, said that it will be recruiting healthy adults for the trial within the next two months.

Chief Executive Jayden Rogers said the S-Trimer vaccine on trial showed great potential and was at the forefront of the global battle with COVID-19.

"This is one of the most prominent trials globally and involves some of the most renowned vaccines companies," Rogers said.

"Combined with extensive preclinical research and commercial-scale manufacturing capabilities, COVID-19 S-Trimer is one of the most exciting vaccine programs globally for the current coronavirus pandemic."

Clover's S-Trimer vaccine is among the first COVID-19 vaccines in development. It aims to help the body produce antibodies to fight the deadly coronavirus which causes COVID-19 disease.

Phase one of the clinical trial involves healthy adult and elderly participants from Australia, which has been chosen to stage the study partially due to it's relatively low infection rates.

"We are fortunate to be one of the few countries in the world to still be offering functional clinical trial facilities because we do not have large volumes of COVID-19 cases as compared to other parts of the world," Rogers explained.

If tests in Australia are successful, the trial will be expanded to include thousands more participants worldwide, and according to the company, the vaccine will be widely available upon confirmation of its safety and efficacy.

Joshua Liang, Chief Strategy Officer at Clover Biopharmaceuticals and co-inventor of the COVID-19 S-Trimer vaccine said that given the impacts of COVID-19, a successful clinical trial is of the utmost importance to the world.

"We have been working tirelessly and hope to contribute significantly to global efforts in fighting this pandemic that has affected us all," Liang said.

In developing the vaccine, Clover scientists also expanded their collaboration to include innovations from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK UK), Dynavax (US) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI Switzerland).

"The fight against COVID-19 requires a global effort bringing together the best science and innovation," Rogers said.