Recombinant dose trial to start

GUANGZHOU－A recombinant COVID-19 fusion protein vaccine developed and manufactured in China has been approved for late-stage clinical trials in the Philippines.

The V-01 vaccine was developed by the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Livzon Pharmaceutical Group in Guangdong province.

V-01 is a fusion recombinant protein vaccine with the receptor-binding domain as the antigen, which is the most important part of the virus spike protein binding with human cellular ACE2 receptors. The binding process grants the virus access to the host's cells and leads to infection.

The Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines has approved the late-stage trial of V-01 to evaluate its safety and efficacy. The trial has started recruiting participants in adults in the country, with the first participant enrolled on Wednesday and inoculated with the first dose.

Hu Zhenxiang, vice-president of Livzon, told Xinhua News Agency that the early- and mid-stage trials of V-01 had produced satisfactory results.

Xinhua