Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) yesterday said it would be ready to manufacture 20 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine next year if it gains emergency use authorization from the government by June.
“That would be our maximum annual vaccine production capacity at our cell-culture manufacturing facility with GMP certification in Hsinchu,” Medigen spokesman Leo Lee (李思賢) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Twenty million doses would be enough to vaccinate 10 million people, as each person would need two doses, Lee said.
Photo: CNA
Medigen on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to provide 3 million to 10 million vaccine doses to help Vietnam fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the company told a news conference in Taipei on Monday.
According to the memorandum, the phase 2 trial of Medigen’s COVID-19 vaccine would begin early next year and include 3,000 participants in Taiwan and Vietnam, Medigen chief executive officer Charles Chen (陳燦堅) told the news conference.
Lee yesterday said the phase 2 trial would be conducted simultaneously in Taiwan and Vietnam, and participants would include at least 1,300 in Taiwan.
The company plans to apply to the Food and Drug Administration and the Vietnamese regulator next month, he added.
Although the pandemic has been controlled in Taiwan, vaccines and drugs are deemed essential in fighting the disease. Some locally developed vaccine candidates, including those by Medigen, Adimmune Corp (國光生技) and United Biomedical Inc (聯亞生技), have undergone phase 1 human trials.
Medigen has enrolled 45 participants aged 20 to 50 for its phase 1 trial in Taiwan.
They have been divided into three groups that receive low, medium or high doses, the company said.
“We have not seen any serious adverse reactions among the enrolled people,” Lee said.
The company’s decision to expand the scope of its human trials in Vietnam follows its ongoing phase 3 trials for its enterovirus 71 vaccine there, which has laid a firm foundation, Lee said.
There are also strong trade ties between Taiwan and Vietnam, where many Taiwanese companies operate, he said.
In related news, TTY Biopharm Co (台灣東洋藥品) yesterday said it has terminated a bid to gain Bio-NTech SE’s authorization to sell its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in Taiwan.
TTY Biopharm last month announced its intention to negotiate with Bio-NTech over the mRNA-based vaccine, but said that the two sides had failed to reach an agreement on the authorization terms, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company did not elaborate.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS