Germany Approves Third Trial of IDT Biologika Covid-19 Vaccine

BERLIN, KOMPAS.com – Germany’s vaccine regulator has approved the third trial of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate from unlisted biotech firm IDT Biologika.

The firm joins two other German companies, BioNTech and CureVac, to launch human trials of an experimental coronavirus vaccine in the country.

The vaccine trial will be conducted on 30 participants between the age of 18 and 55 in which they will receive two vaccinations at four-week intervals.

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IDT Biologika developed the potential Covid-19 vaccine with the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF).

A larger Phase 2 trial, which will include elderly volunteers, is planned for the end of this year if the results of the early-stage study show the vaccine is safe and produces an immune response.

Based in Dessau-Rosslau in east Germany, IDT produces viral vaccines for pharmaceutical companies and is assisting in six Covid-19 projects including AstraZeneca's experimental shot against Covid-19.

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Its own so-called viral vector vaccine is based on a modified and harmless smallpox virus that has already been used to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus that causes the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Hundreds of potential Covid-19 vaccines are in various stages of development, with 41 prospects in human trials across the globe.

Russia and China have already deployed shots before full efficacy trials have been concluded, and front-runners from Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca are likely to have final-stage trial results before year-end.

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Germany has awarded vaccine makers BioNTech and CureVac €627 million ($734.78 million) to help speed up work on their Covid-19 shots and expand German production capacity. It is also in talks with IDT about providing funding. ($1 = 0.8533 euros)

(Writer: Caroline Copley | Editor: Michelle Adair)

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-germany-vaccine-idUSL8N2GT14M