Focus Taiwan
Date: 6/03/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Lee Hsin-Yin

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Five research facilities and biotechnology companies in Taiwan are currently developing vaccines for the COVID-19 coronavirus, most of which are expected to enter clinical trials by the end of this year, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said Wednesday.

In addition to the government-run National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) and Academia Sinica, three biotech companies are developing the vaccines, said NHRI President Liang Kung-yee (梁賡義), who is also a CECC member.

The NHRI could begin human trials in autumn at the earliest, looking into four categories of vaccines through the use of peptides, DNA engineering, recombinant viruses and antigen-based subunit vaccines, he said.

Academia Sinica is also improving a nanotechnology-based vaccine it has developed, Liang went on, adding that the three companies, which are running subunit vaccines, could begin clinical trials by the end of 2020.    [FULL  STORY]