Production of an (A)H1N1 flu vaccine will begin today and the vaccine will hit the market by mid-November if clinical trials and the certification process go as planned, state-sponsored Adimmune Corp said yesterday.
Adimmune, otherwise known as Kuo-kwang Biotechnology Co, won a bid tendered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last month to produce 5 million doses of (A)H1N1 vaccine at NT$199 each.
Adimmune deputy chief executive officer and president Ignatius Wei (魏逸之) told reporters yesterday that the company would begin injecting chicken embryos with a strain of the type A flu virus created by New York Medical College, the first step toward mass production of type A (H1N1) vaccines.
Once mass production is underway, clinical trials can begin, Wei said
The trials will be conducted by Huang Li-min (黃立民), a professor at National Taiwan University Hospital and chief of the infectious diseases division in the pediatric department.
“We will conduct clinical trial with 200 adults — half of which will be under 60 years old, and half above,” Huang said.
Following the dosage used in seasonal flu vaccines, half of the tested shots will be 15mg and the other half will be 30mg, he said.
“We are quite certain that one of them, or both, will work,” he said.
As the principle investigator of the clinical trials he needs to maintain a neutral position in terms of the drug candidates, Huang said.
“I really hope it works ... Of course, the hospital will not be working on a vaccine that we think will not work,” he said.
Given that the world’s vaccine production capacity is 900 million doses annually, it would be difficult for everyone on earth — about 6 billion people — to be vaccinated, he said.
The bad news is that swine flu is already beginning to spread, Huang said, adding that he has seen many people in his outpatient practice with the virus.
Contrary to predictions that swine flu will not begin to spread widely until the weather cools down in the fall, Huang said: “When a virus is strong enough, it will spread regardless of the temperature.”
Depending on foreign companies for type A flu vaccines would be a long shot, so Taiwan must produce its own vaccines, he said.
Given the skepticism over Adimmune’s decision to begin mass production of its vaccine even before the clinical trials are complete, Wei said: “Mass production must begin as soon as possible. Time is not on our side.”
A 200-person trial is already a larger test than what the WHO deems necessary, because the WHO considers the type A flu a common flu virus, therefore tests for its vaccine do not need to follow procedures for brand new drugs, he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is