UK Government to Fund Human Challenge Studies to Speed Up COVID-19 Vaccine
The UK government announced on Tuesday that it will invest 33.6 million ($43.5 million) to fund the so-called human challenge trials, in which healthy individuals will be deliberately exposed to the novel coronavirus after receiving a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with the aim of speeding up research
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) The UK government announced on Tuesday that it will invest 33.6 million ($43.5 million) to fund the so-called human challenge trials, in which healthy individuals will be deliberately exposed to the novel coronavirus after receiving a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with the aim of speeding up research.
"Human challenge studies offer the chance to accelerate development of promising vaccines against COVID-19, bringing them to people more quickly - potentially saving thousands of lives," the government said in a statement.
Up to 90 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 30 would take part in the study which is due to begin in January, 2021, if approved by the UK health regulators' research ethics committee.
The first stage of the project will be delivered by a partnership between the government's Department for business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Imperial College London, the Royal Free Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust and hViVO, a leading company in this type of clinical tests.