BMRC approves icddr,b in human trial of Chinese Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on Sunday approved the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) to conduct phase-3 human trials of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company.

"The approval to conduct the phase-3 clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinovac Research and Development Co Ltd, will be announced formally within two to three days," BMRC Director Dr Mahmood-uz-Jahan told UNB.

About a month ago, icddr,b applied to BMRC for permission to conduct the Covid-19 vaccine's phase-3 clinical trial in Bangladesh, he said, adding that their application has been approved today.

"We went through their application and reviewed it," he added.

However, icddr,b will now have to follow some other procedures and get permissions from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for conducting the phase-3 trial, Dr Jahan added.

With a particular focus on health and wellbeing of the people of Bangladesh, icddr,b has been actively monitoring the developments of the coronavirus pandemic since December.

Being a part of National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19, icddr,b has been providing technical support to the government on the prevention of novel coronavirus infections, improvement in the quality of health services in hospitals, and vaccine research.

NTAC was formed in April 2020 in Bangladesh during the pandemic.

Earlier on June 17, icddr,b started a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anti-parasitic medicine Ivermectin in combination with antibiotic doxycycline or Ivermectin alone.

Later on June 26, icddr,b's globally recognised diagnostic centre at Dhaka's Mohakhali offered SARS CoV-2 tests to patients suspected of having Covid-19.