The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) has achieved a breakthrough in its development of an enterovirus 71 (EV-71) vaccine that can efficiently generate antibodies in humans, a member of the research team said on Tuesday.
In the first phase of the clinical trials that will be completed by the end of this year, the vaccine produced more than 600 times the normal level of antibodies in adults, said Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology.
Su said the next phase would be to test the vaccine in various age groups next year to determine how many doses are needed to resist the virus.
Phase III will be carried out at several medical centers in different countries, with the aim of finding out how much protection the vaccine can provide against EV-71 infection, he said.
The EV-71 vaccine will be considered effective if it can generate 80 to 90 percent protection, he said.
Enterovirus 71 is the most virulent strain of enterovirus. It is found in Taiwan, China and several other Asian countries.
Although Taiwan began development of an EV-71 vaccine earlier than China, Chinese researchers completed the Phase I trials before Taiwan, Su said.
The Taiwanese team has applied for seven international certificates and is optimistic about being able to offer the vaccine domestically and internationally, he said.
The NHRI has signed nonexclusive patent license agreements with Adimmune Corp and Medigen Biotechnology Corp and will transfer the technology to the two firms as the first step to entering the international market.
The institute is in partnership discussions with another biotech firm, United Biomedical.
Separately, the institute said it had also made substantial progress in the development of a vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis and would start looking for international partners by the end of this year to promote joint research and development.
As of last month, the Centers for Disease Control had confirmed three cases of severe enterovirus so far this year, all of which were EV-71 infections. One of the cases was fatal.
The nation’s first outbreak of EV-71 in 1998 killed 78 children.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
RSS