Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has expressed the hope that the production of the Red and White COVID-19 vaccine developed by Airlangga University and PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia would start in the second half of 2022.

“I hope that the clinical trial process will run smoothly so that in the second half of next year, the Red and White Vaccine can be produced,” he said at the Open Session of the 67th anniversary of Airlangga University here on Tuesday.

The pre-clinical test of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Universitas Airlangga has shown good results and high efficiency, he noted. PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia will conduct clinical trials to check the safety and benefits of the vaccine, he added.

The first phase of clinical trials to test the safety of the vaccine would be conducted on 100 people, the second phase of clinical trials to check the immunogenicity of the vaccine would be conducted on 400 people, and the third phase will test the efficacy of the vaccine and involve about 3 thousand people, he informed.

According to Sadikin, the scenario for the third phase of the Red and White Vaccine clinical trial is currently being prepared.

“In the first scenario, the vaccine will be injected twice. Then, in the second scenario, the vaccine will be injected once as a booster to strengthen the previous injections, and in the third scenario, the vaccine will be injected twice targeting children aged under 12 years old,” he expounded.

At the Open Session on Tuesday, Airlangga University gave the Red and White Vaccine seeds to PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia for further clinical trials.

The minister lauded Airlangga University and PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia for successfully completing the research and pre-clinical vaccine trials in less than a year.

Minister Sadikin added that the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has also been involved in the development of the vaccine from the beginning to accelerate efforts to produce a domestically made COVID-19 vaccine.

Source: Antara News