'Ground-breaking’ possible vaccine for COVID-19 being trialled in Australia
An Australian clinical research company is set to trial a potential coronavirus vaccine and says it will be seeking volunteers in the next two months.
Perth-based Linear Clinical Research will trial a "ground-breaking" potential vaccine being developed to help the body produce antibodies to fight the coronavirus.
China-based biotechnology company Clover Biopharmaceuticals has developed the potential vaccine, COVID-19 S-Trimer, a statement on Tuesday said.
Linear chief executive Jayden Rogers said the vaccine candidate showed great potential, and securing the trial was a major coup for Australia.
"This is one of the most prominent trials globally and involves some of the most renowned vaccines companies," Mr Rogers said in the statement.
He said Clover was one of the first companies to start developing a vaccine when it began work in January.
COVID-19 S-Trimer is one of the first potential vaccines to make it to human trials, he said.
Linear will be seeking healthy adults, including the elderly, to volunteer for the first phase of the trial within the next two months.
If successful, the next phase of the trial would involve thousands of people around the world, before it's hoped a vaccine could be made widely available.
"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," Mr Rogers said.
Australia continues to have a low rate of new coronavirus cases, with more than 6700 people diagnosed to date and 84 deaths.
More than 2.97 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and more than 205,000 have died.
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