bdnews24.com :
Bangladesh Medical Research Council, or BMRC, has given ethical clearance to the Bangavax COVID-19 vaccine of Globe Biotech for a small Phase-1 clinical trial on humans.
Developed by the local pharmaceutical company, Bangavax is the first experimental vaccine to be used on humans in Bangladesh.
After the approval on Tuesday, BMRC Director Dr Ruhul Amin said the company will get the clearance for widespread use if large phase-2 and phase-3 trials show the shot is effective and safe enough.
Globe Biotech applied for approval for a human trial on Nov 1, saying the vaccine yielded “good results” in trials on monkeys.
Dr Mohammad Mohiuddin, a senior manager at the company, said they submitted all the documents properly and hoped they would be able to begin the human trial in November if they get the clearance.
The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius for one
industry and investment advisor to the prime minister.
“India will start sending vaccines again from the coming month,” he said at a Dhaka Reporters Unity event on Tuesday. “All of the vaccines from India will arrive by the first quarter of next year.”
The Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturing company in the world, is producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca created COVID vaccine and selling it under the name COVISHIELD.
In November last year, the Bangladesh government signed an agreement to buy 30 million doses of the vaccine from the company. The government then paid Tk 6 billion in advance, nearly half the cost of the vaccines.
According to the agreement, the vaccine would be shipped from India to Bangladesh by Beximco Pharmaceuticals in Bangladesh, which would act as the sole distributor. Salman F Rahman is the vice-chairman of Beximco Group.
