S. Korea approves Phase III trial of SK Bioscience's COVID-19 vaccine

SEOUL: South Korea gave vaccine developer SK Bioscience the green light on Tuesday for a Phase III study of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate at a time of vaccine shortages, when a spurt in infections is fuelling demand.

The clinical trial of GBP510, the candidate for the first domestic vaccine, will weigh its immunogenicity and safety against AstraZeneca Plc's vaccine, drug safety minister Kim Gang-lip told a news conference. Three thousand of the 3,990 adults in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine and 990 will get AstraZeneca doses, with an interval of four weeks, Kim said.