(Eagle News) – Only the Chinese biotech firm Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine has so far passed the Philippine vaccine expert panel’s pre-screening for possible clinical trials in the country, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
FDA Director General Eric Domingo said that only the vaccine from Sinovac has passed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) vaccine expert panel, while two other COVID-19 vaccines – one by Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen pharmaceuticals, and Sputnik V which was developed by Russia — are still being evaluated.
In April, China approved clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac, called CoronaVac. It is a chemically-inactivated whole virus vaccine for COVID-19. It is also set for Phase3 clinical trials in Brazil
Domingo said that Sinovac had applied with the FDA for permission to also conduct clinical trials here.
“Well sa ngayon po ang lumapit na doon sa ating vaccine expert panel sa DOST ay tatlo – iyon pong sa Sinovac na galing China, mayroon po iyong Janssen at iyon din pong Sputnik V na galing po sa Russia. Pero ang nakalusot po sa pre-screening ng vaccine expert panel ay iyon pong Sinovac galing sa China na today ay nag-apply na rin po sa FDA ng clinical trial na permission to conduct a clinical trial here,” he said in a press briefing Thursday, Oct. 22.
But Domingo clarified that the Sinovac vaccine still has to get a license from the FDA before it can conduct clinical trials in the country.
“Kung sakali naman pong nakakuha na sila ng license sa China para gamitin ito doon, dito ay maari lang gamitin kung kukuha rin po sila ng license mula sa FDA dito,” he said.
-Russia’s Sputnik V, other vaccines still under review-
Russia’s Sputnik V and the vaccine by Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen pharmaceuticals are still under study, aside from those under the Solidarity Trial of the World Health Organization (WHO).
China’s Sinovac is currently undergoing regulatory evaluation, and ethics board evaluation in the country.
“So katulad po ng sinabi ko, ang nakapasa na po sa pre-screening ng vaccine expert panel ay iyong Sinovac na nag-apply na rin po today sa FDA so that is undergoing regulatory evaluation. Ganoon din po iyong ethics board evaluation niya, tuluy-tuloy po iyon,” Domingo explained.
“Mayroon pang dalawang inaaral po ang vaccine expert panel, iyong Janssen saka iyong Sputnik V ng Gamaleya at siyempre po iyong WHO Solidarity Trial for vaccines,” he said.
Recently, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro said that he would not allow the purchase of the Sinovac vaccine in his country.
He said he had cancelled a deal in Brazil done by his health minister to buy 46 million doses of the vaccine from China.
(Eagle News Service)
