Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) is planning to develop its next-generation COVID-19 vaccine by using a sequence of the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was first detected in South Africa, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The company’s animal tests showed that a booster shot built on the Beta variant prompted immunity in hamsters against all variants of the virus, it said.
Medigen is seeking to conduct human trials for the vaccine in Taiwan, but it would not necessarily need to conduct phase 1 clinical trials, the earliest stage involving human testing, company spokesman Leo Lee (李思賢) told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday.
Photo: Billy H.C. Kwok, Bloomberg
The drugmaker would consult with the local drug regulator regarding the protocol for the next round of clinical trials, Lee said.
Medigen in May conducted research on whether a third dose of its current vaccine would bolster immunity against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, the company said.
It administered the doses to 45 participants six months after they received the first two shots, the firm said.
In separate trials on hamsters, the drugmaker tested their immune response to other major variants after receiving three doses, it said.
Medigen said it split the research into five sub-trials: In the first, it gave hamsters two shots developed on the original virus; in the second, it gave them two shots developed on the Beta variant; in the third, it gave “bivalent” vaccines containing both strains; in the fourth, it gave three shots developed on the original virus; and in the fifth, it gave two shots developed on the original virus and an additional shot developed on the Beta variant.
Hamsters in all five groups developed antibodies, while those given a third shot, whether based on the original virus or the Beta variant, had higher antibody levels than those that received only two shots, the company said.
Hamsters that were given two shots developed on the original virus and a third shot based on the Beta variant developed the highest antibody levels, regardless of whether they were infected with the Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta variants, the company said.
Viral loads in the lungs and nasal cavities of the hamsters of that group reduced significantly eight weeks after receiving the third shot, it added.
Medigen shares gained 1.65 percent to NT$278 in Taipei trading on Friday.
The stock price has risen 169.9 percent so far this year, Taipei Exchange data showed.
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS