TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese vaccine manufacturer Adimmune Corporation (國光生技) is expected to launch live human trials of its coronavirus candidate vaccine in August after it was proven effective on animal subjects.

Global researchers have placed their hopes on the development of a coronavirus vaccine as the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to UDN, Adimmune found one of its candidate vaccines effective in animal trials and is planning to conduct phase I clinical trials next month to assess the vaccine's safety.

The vaccine provider said it would cooperate with National Taiwan University (NTU) in carrying out trials and is expected to enroll more than 1,000 healthy individuals to participate. Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Advisory Specialist Panel Convener and NTU Vice President Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) will be in charge, the firm said.

Adimmune General Manager Liu Chung-Cheng (留忠正) noted the main focus of the trials, which could be completed in three months, is to determine whether there are severe side effects of the experimental vaccine. If the testing is successful, the vaccine could be ready for the Taiwanese public before February, he added.

On Thursday (July 23), NTU researcher Huang Li-ming (黃立民) also announced that his team has developed a mucosal vaccine that could potentially prevent coronavirus from entering the human body, without using a needle. He said animal testing for the new vaccine will be completed in October if all goes smoothly, reported Yahoo News.