UK to host human challenge trials for COVID-19 vaccines

▴ uk-host-human-challenge-trials-covid19-vaccines
So-called "challenge trials" are expected to begin in January at a quarantine facility in London, the report said.

Britain is planning to host clinical trials where volunteers are deliberately infected with the new coronavirus to test the effectiveness of vaccine candidates, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people involved in the project.
So-called "challenge trials" are expected to begin in January at a quarantine facility in London, the report said, adding that about 2,000 participants had signed up through a U.S.-based advocacy group, 1Day Sooner.

The studies will be government-funded, the FT reported, although 1Day Sooner said it would also launch a petition for public funding of a biocontainment facility big enough to quarantine 100 to 200 participants.

Imperial College London, reportedly the academic lead on the trials, did not confirm the studies.

"Imperial continues to engage in a wide range of exploratory discussions relating to COVID-19 research, with a variety of partners. We have nothing further to report at this stage," a spokeswoman said, asked about the possibility of challenge trials.

Any trials conducted in the United Kingdom have to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the healthcare regulator which looks into safety and protocol.

The UK government and the MHRA did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment, but 1Day Sooner, which lobbies for challenge trials to accelerate vaccine development, welcomed the report.

"1Day Sooner congratulates the British government on their plans to conduct challenge trials to test vaccines," it said in a statement, confirming it would petition the government to house the trial participants.

The industry has seen discussions in recent months about potentially having to inject healthy volunteers with the novel coronavirus if drugmakers struggled to find enough patients for final trials.

The FT report said that volunteers would first be inoculated with a vaccine and later receive a challenge dose of the coronavirus. It did not name the vaccines that would be assessed in the project.

British drugmaker AstraZeneca, and French firm Sanofi both told Reuters that their vaccine candidates were not involved in the program.

Tags : #UK #Host #COVID-19 #Vaccines #Humanchallenges

Related Stories

Loading Please wait...

-Advertisements-




Trending Now

10 PCOS Warning Signs That Need Your AttentionDecember 27, 2024
Experts Dub 2024 as the Year of Technologies and Innovations in Healthcare; Stress on further Integration of Technologies December 27, 2024
Aakash Healthcare Partners with Japan for Groundbreaking Surgical Intervention: A Global Collaboration to Revolutionize Cardiovascular CareDecember 26, 2024
Traditional Medicine Goes Global: How Ayush 2024 Reimagined WellnessDecember 26, 2024
Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2025 worth INR 2 Crore now open for nominations worldwide December 26, 2024
Holiday Season Round the Corner? 6 Daily Habits That Could Be The Reason Behind Your Fatty LiverDecember 26, 2024
Healing the Nation: Doctors as Architects of a Healthier FutureDecember 26, 2024
Brewing Health Benefits: Can Coffee and Tea Help Fight Head and Neck Cancers?December 26, 2024
Seven-Year-Old Fights Back Against Rare Autoimmune DiseaseDecember 26, 2024
Olympus Named to Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the Fourth Consecutive YearDecember 26, 2024
American Oncology Institute (AOI) in Nagpur Restores Mobility with KyphoplastyDecember 26, 2024
Sanjeevani Healthcare & Wellness Expo 2024: A Dynamic Platform for Global Healthcare CollaborationDecember 23, 2024
Ranitidine: Saviour or Suspect? The Truth Behind the Stomach Acid RemedyDecember 23, 2024
From One-Size-Fits-All to Precision Medicine: The New Hope for Rare Bone Cancer PatientsDecember 23, 2024
World Meditation Day: India’s Gift of Peace to a Chaotic WorldDecember 23, 2024
Breaking New Ground in Migraine Care: A Landmark Session on Diagnosis and TreatmentDecember 23, 2024
Black Angels remind us of centuries of injustices plaguing the TB responseDecember 20, 2024
Healthcare Startups to Watch Out for in 2025December 20, 2024
Biobank Blueprint: Redefining Diabetes Diagnosis and Treatment in IndiaDecember 20, 2024
The Future of Malaria Prevention: Can This Vaccine Eliminate the Disease?December 20, 2024