KM Biologics commences clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate

Japan’s KM Biologics Co has started a human trial for its COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the country’s third candidate to advance to clinical trials.

The first volunteer was injected with the inactivated virus vaccine known as KD-414, the company said in a release. KM Biologics, a subsidiary of confectionary maker Meiji Holdings Co, is also involved in the domestic production of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The two-course vaccine will be administered with a 27-day interval, KM Biologics said.

The study is a combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 trial involving 210 subjects to test the vaccine’s safety and ability to trigger an immune response, the company said.

KM Biologics, based in Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan, makes vaccines against influenza, hepatitis, and Japanese encephalitis.

AnGes and Shionogi & Co were the first Japanese companies to move their COVID-19 vaccine candidates into human trials.

Japan began its COVID-19 inoculation campaign last month with a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and imported from Europe.