The China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. will now be among the potential collaborators of the Philippines in the coronavirus disease vaccine development and clinical trials, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the two pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in the market today—PCV10 and PCV13—are comparable in performance based on new evidence gathered by global health experts.
This was what the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society of the Philippines declared during a webinar sponsored by the Samahang Plaridel, dubbed “Communicating Key Truths in Public Health,” on Tuesday.
“We have been given updates on both PCV10 and PCV13. These updates have been reviewed and assessed by the immunization committee and we see that both are comparable,” said Mary Ann Bunyi, vice president of the PIDSP.
“So, the updates that were given to us by both companies we have forwarded to the Department of Health, and we leave it to the DOH which pneumococcal vaccine will be made available for public use, and especially given for free to vulnerable children.”
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases had approved the recommendation of the Department of Science and Technology to include Sinovac among the prospective collaborators of the Philippines.
“The IATF has approved the recommendation of the DOST to include Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in the list of potential collaborators in the Philippines for COVID-19 vaccine development and clinical trials,” Roque said.
Last month, the biopharmaceutical company behind China's most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates announced it was in talks to conduct late-stage trials globally.
Sinovac Biotech Ltd. focuses on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines that protect against human infectious diseases, according to its website.
Sinovac’s product portfolio includes vaccines against enterovirus71 (EV71), hepatitis A and B, seasonal influenza, the H5N1 pandemic influenza (avian flu), the H1N1 influenza (swine flu), varicella and mumps.
The Beijing-based company primarily sells its vaccines in China while also exploring growth opportunities in the international markets. It is registering its products in over 30 countries.
Based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s 11th weekly report to Congress on the government’s COVID-19 response efforts, there are 20 out of 24 hospitals participating in the World Health Organization Solidarity Trials that are now recruiting participant-patients.
A “Solidarity Trial,” an international clinical trial, was earlier launched by the WHO and its partners to test the safety and effectiveness of the possible vaccines in treating COVID-19.
The Philippines’ participation in the WHO Solidarity Trial was approved by the Single Joint Research Ethics Board on April 17 in support of the COVID-19 global response.
As of June 3, data showed there were 220 participant-patients or enrollees in the clinical trials
