Staff Reporter :
The entire world has now become helpless due to Covid-19 or coronavirus pandemic, and the number of infections and fatalities is on the rise.
The virus has killed over half a million people in the last five months while inflected over one crore more.
More than 100 research institutions around the world are trying to develop a vaccine to deal with the virus.
It was reported that the Oxford vaccine is now at the final stage. But on Monday last (June 29), China claimed that it successfully developed a coronavirus preventive vaccine. The country initially allowed its military to use it for one year.
Amid such a situation, Globe Biotech Limited, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh, also claims to have to have joined the global race to develop a coronavirus vaccine in the country.
The company claimed on Wednesday that it had found the vaccine effective in animal’s body. They expect that they will find it effective in the human body as well.
Dr. Asif Mahmood, the Head of Globe Biotech Ltd. Research and Development Department, told a newspaper here, “We’ve got initial success in our work on developing the vaccine as It has been successful in the animal model. Now we hope it will work successfully in the human body as well. We will now take the matter to the departments concerned of the government. We’ll then complete the next steps as per the guidelines to be given by them.”
As of Tuesday, Globe Biotech Limited has said 5,743 complete genome sequences of coronavirus have been submitted worldwide, according to the NCBI virus database. Of which, 6 have been submitted from Bangladesh.
Globe Biotech Limited has confirmed its vaccine target by testing the genome sequences through the Bioinformatics
tool, which the company hope will be very effective in this geographical region.
Regarding the development of the vaccine, they claim that after a detailed analysis of the vaccine developed in the laboratory of Globe Biotech Limited, they have got satisfactory results in making appropriate antibodies by experimentally applying it in the laboratory animal model.
Globe Biotech Limited Chairman Harunur Rashid said, “We’re working to start a clinical trial to test the safety and effectiveness of this vaccine. I seek all-out cooperation from the government in conducting safety and effectiveness test of the vaccine.”
