Globe Biotech starts vaccine trial on monkeys held from Safari Park
Bangladeshi company Globe Biotech has started the trial of its Covid-19 vaccine Bangovax on the 56 monkeys they had collected from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Gazipur.
The trial kicked off 1 August will continue till late September.
Globe Biotech will seek permission from the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) for conducting human trials of the vaccine based on the result they will achieve from the animal trial.
Mohammad Mohiuddin, Quality and Regulatory Operations Manager at Globe Biotech, shared the development to the media today, reports Prothom Alo.
On 22 June, BMRC sent a letter to Globe Biotech asking it to conduct a trial on monkeys or chimpanzees before a clinical trial.
Earlier on 5 July, five officials and employees of Globe Biotech Limited went to catch monkeys at Barmi Bazar in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur. But locals allegedly assaulted them when they tried to catch monkeys.
Earlier in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, Globe Biotech Ltd sought and secured the approval of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) to produce Covid-19 vaccine candidate "Bangavax" to carry out clinical trials.
The conditions included a requirement for monkey trials before human trials are conducted.