Pfizer To Test Coronavirus Vaccine In Japan
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says it will soon start clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in Japan.
Pfizer announced on Tuesday that 160 Japanese aged 20 to 85 will take part in the trials. They are to be vaccinated twice, with a three-week interval.
The company plans to start the trials this month. It aims to apply for approval to produce and sell the vaccine in Japan after confirming its effectiveness and safety.
Pfizer is working with a German partner to develop such a vaccine, and has agreed with Japan's government to supply doses for 60 million people by the end of June 2021.
Pfizer will likely apply for emergency authorization of its vaccine in the US as early as late November if the final phase of clinical trials now underway there is successful.
British-based drug firm AstraZeneca, which also agreed to supply vaccines to Japan, is conducting clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine in the country.
