MANILA, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Clover Biopharmaceuticals is
seeking to conduct late-stage clinical trials in the Philippines
of its coronavirus vaccine, the country's foods and drugs agency
chief said on Friday.
Clover is the second Chinese developer to apply for Phase 3
clinical trials in the Philippines following Sinovac Biotech
SVA.O , which is seeking to begin trials of its vaccine as
early as next month.
Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) head Rolando Enrique
Domingo told reporters Clover's COVID-19 vaccine would first be
evaluated by an expert panel before it could proceed to the next
stage of the approval process.
The Philippines is also evaluating COVID-19 vaccines of
Johnson & Johnson's JNJ.N Janssen and Russia's Gamaleya
Research Institute for late-stage trials.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he preferred
that his country source its COVID-19 vaccines from either China
or Russia.
He also said he wanted the entire population vaccinated,
with priority given to the poor and the country's security
forces.
The Philippines has recorded 376,935 coronavirus cases and
7,147 COVID-19 deaths as of Thursday, the second highest in
Southeast Asia.