Coronavirus vaccine set for testing, says startup backed by Singapore VC

Vickers Venture invests in U.K.'s Emergex as biotechs race to develop drug

Prisoners receive seasonal flu vaccination in Chile in March as the coronavirus outbreak spreads across the globe. © Reuters

LESLIE SHAFFER, DealStreetAsia

March 18, 2020 20:34 JST

SINGAPORE -- As the new coronavirus spreads across the globe and devastates communities, companies are racing to develop a vaccine, with the U.K.'s Emergex becoming the latest to divert resources from other projects, including the development of a dengue fever vaccine, to work on COVID-19.

The startup expects to have a vaccine ready for testing within two months, Lim Xinhong, director and analyst at Singapore-based venture capital firm Vickers Venture Partners told DealStreetAsia. Vickers Venture is an investor in Emergex.