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Dr Noor Hisham: Msia to receive Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial data next week

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is expected to receive data on phase three of the Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial from one of 10 companies it is negotiating with.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the report “will most likely” be ready next week, but stressed that the vaccine will only get a green light if the company is able to acquire a licence.

“After receiving (the report), we will study it. (Later), the vaccine will be brought to the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their approvals.

“If the vaccine is neither approved nor licensed, it means it can’t be sold like other medicines in the country.

“In fact, our agreement (with the vaccine companies) says that it will be void if the conditions for registration and licensing are not met,” he told reporters today.

Previously, Dr Noor Hisham said there were 10 companies claiming to have come close to developing a vaccine. However, none has actually published their clinical trial data to be reviewed.

On Nov 21, it was reported that US biotech giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech had sought approval a day before to roll out their coronavirus vaccine early.

Vaccines developed by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna are among those in the lead in the global race for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Source: NST