BANGKOK (NNT) – The Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University has been successful in testing the COVID-19 vaccine on monkeys and is going to begin human trials.
Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) Suvit Maesincee, said today he was informed by the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, and the National Research Council of Thailand of promising results in an MRNA vaccine trial for COVID-19 on monkeys, carried out by the National Primate Research Center of Thailand.
The result shows high effectiveness in every monkey without any negative side effects. Two weeks since the second injection on the 22nd of June, researchers have now taken the monkeys’ blood samples and found a neutralizing antibody in every sample, described as such a satisfying finding. The next step will be a human trial which will begin this October.
The research center will be looking for volunteers for the human trial between August and September and will inject the first doses in October.
The human trial will be conducted in three phases and if it shows promising results, mass production of the vaccine and vaccination registration will be undertaken. The authority will also exchange aspects of its technology with foreign countries.
