A new COVID-19 vaccine backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has entered phase 1 clinical human testing, reports Tech Crunch.
Gates earlier this week said his foundation will make billions of dollars available for manufacturing the most promising vaccines to combat the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.5 million people worldwide and killed more than 88,000.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals on Monday received regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to begin testing its vaccine in humans. The Gates Foundation, along with other nonprofits, have poured funding into the project.
Inovio's candidate, called INO-4800, is the second potential vaccine to start human trials in the U.S. Moderna, based out of Massachusetts, started dosing in mid-March for its own safety trial.
INO-4800 showed promising results in preclinical studies involving animals, per Tech Crunch, and will be tested on 40 volunteers – all adults selected via screening conducted at either Philadelphia's Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, or the Center for Pharmaceutical Research in Kansas City.
Data from the trial will be ready by the summer, though a vaccine will not be ready for at least a year.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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