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The Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) has approved the Phase III clinical trials of a Chinese vaccine against the coronavirus.
The vaccine, developed by the Institute of Medical Biology and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, IMBCAMS, will be trialled on candidates aged 18 and above.
The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, icddr,b, will oversee the clinical trials of the vaccine.
The BMRC on Wednesday sent a letter to icddr,b's senior scientist Dr Firdausi Qadri granting temporary approval for the trial of the Chinese vaccine, reports bdnews24.com.
Addressing the matter, BMRC Director Md Ruhul Amin said the icddr,b had submitted its protocol for the third phase of clinical trials and was granted permission accordingly.
“Our National Ethics Committee has verified their application. The vaccine has been approved for the third phase of the trial.”
On June 16, the BMRC laid out a fresh set of conditions for the human trials of Globe Biotech's homegrown coronavirus vaccine candidate 'Bangavax' along with two others from India and China.
While the Chinese vaccine has now been given the nod, the fate of Bangavax remains unclear.
Asked whether the clinical trial of Bangavax has been approved, Amin said a similar letter has also been sent to Globe Biotech.
"They've been told about our requirements."
The Directorate General of Drug Administration has already approved the AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, Sinpharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use in Bangladesh.