China's Sinovac may start Philippine vaccine trials this year

BEIJING (Bloomberg): China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd may start Covid-19 vaccine trials in the Philippines before the end of the year, the chief of the Southeast Asian nation’s food and drug agency said.

Sinovac has passed the review of a vaccine experts panel to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials and is expected to submit as early as this week its application with the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration, Eric Domingo, the agency’s director general, said in a virtual briefing Thursday (Oct 15). The approval process may take 21 days, he said.