Japan startup VLP begins trial of new COVID vaccine

Shot requires smaller dose, allows faster production, CEO says

20211019 vlptherapeutics

VLP Therapeutics Japan hopes to start Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials of its COVID-19 vaccine next spring. (Source photo by Reuters and VLP Therapeutics Japan website)

Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- VLP Therapeutics Japan has begun a clinical trial of a new coronavirus vaccine that would require a far smaller dosage than those of Pfizer and Moderna, and could dramatically shorten production time, the company said Monday.

The company, a subsidiary of a U.S. drug startup founded by Japanese researchers, has developed the vaccine in partnership with six Japanese research institutes, including Oita University, Hokkaido University and the National Center for Global Health and Medicine.

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