Turkey working on six virus vaccine candidates

Turkey is supporting six projects on vaccine development against the coronavirus, including the one in the form of a nasal spray, the head of the Health Institutes of Turkey (TÜSEB) has said.

Two other vaccine projects' transaction processes are also ongoing, Erhan Akdoğan told Anadolu Agency.

The projects are being carried out at six Turkish universities including Erciyes, Hacettepe, Yıldız Teknik, Marmara, Atatürk and Akdeniz.

Among these projects, the vaccine candidate at Erciyes University is at the phase 2 trial stage, Akdogan said.

"Researches are still continuing at the university. Scientific processes are underway for the vaccine development. We hope that the vaccine will come out soon."

A little more time is needed to reveal the preliminary results of the Erciyes University project, he added.

Both scientists and TÜSEB as well as the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK) provided the necessary support for research and development very quickly and continues to do so, according to Akdoğan.

He stressed that the TÜSEB began to support scientific projects for the development of vaccines immediately after the first coronavirus case was reported in Turkey.

Jab as nasal spray

While the vaccine candidate developed at the Erciyes University is an inactive one, Akdoğan said that many different types of vaccine studies are being carried out in Turkey, including one in the form of a nasal spray.

"This is a new technology in the world as well," he said, adding that its research and development process continues.

"Human trials have not yet begun for this vaccine candidate. This is a different vaccine developed by a private organization," he added.

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