6 firms sign confidentiality agreement for review of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial results
By Dhel Nazario
Six pharmaceutical and biotech companies have signed a Confidentiality Data Agreement (CDA) with the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DoST-PCHRD) allowing the country's Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) to review their Phase 1 and 2 COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial results.
They are Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Anhui Zhifei from China, Gamelaya from Russia, University of Queensland, CSL, and Seqirus from Australia, and Adimmune Corp. from Taiwan. The review will pave the way for them to proceed with the application for Phase 3 clinical trial in the Philippines.
DoST Secretary Fortunato dela Pena during his weekly report on Friday said that the DoST, through the Sub-Technical Working Group on Vaccine Development, is also finalizing the CDA for TianyuanBiopharma in China and reviewing the agreements for Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Arcturus Therapeutics, both of the USA.
The department is also helping these foreign vaccine developers by connecting them to local Contract Research Organizations (CROs) that will help them facilitate their clinical trials in the Philippines.
He said that the DoST, through the Sub-TWG, has been in contact with 17 biotech and pharmaceutical companies in seven countries – Sinopharm, Sinovac, Anhui Zhifei, Ghuangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, and Tianyuan Biopharma, all from China; Adimmune Corp., AcademicaSinica, and National Health Research Institute and Chang Gung University, all from Taiwan; Gamaleya and VEKTOR of Russia; Moderna, Pfizer, and Texas Children’s Hospital in the USA; University of Queensland and Seqirus of Australia; AnGes/Takara Bio of Japan; University of Saskatchewan in Canada; and Bharat Biotech of India.