EuCorVac-19 vaccine gets greenlight for trials

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety granted the go-ahead for Eubiologics to start Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate on Wednesday, making it the fifth Korean bio firm to receive the approval.

Phase 1 clinical trials will be conducted on healthy adults to test the substance’s safety and the level of antibodies it could create in the human body.

The Eubiologics vaccine candidate, EuCorVac-19, delivers immune boosters in liposomes, which are like nano-sized spheres. It is a recombinant vaccine made with genetic recombination technology. The surface antigen of the vaccine stimulates the immune cell to produce neutralizing antibodies to fight the Covid-19 virus.

As of Wednesday, seven vaccine candidates and 15 coronavirus treatment candidates are undergoing clinical trials in Korea.

BY SONG KYOUNG-SON [song.kyoungson@joongang.co.kr]