Seattle continues to be an integral player in the fight against COVID-19, with local company HDT Bio announcing it will enter early-stage clinical trials in the U.S for an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The phase 1 trial will enroll 60 volunteers and will assess the safety and strength of the immune response against the shot, in the hope that it may be strong enough to advance as a single-shot candidate.
The company’s vaccine development has been aided by a contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health and its aim is to produce a candidate that is easy to manufacture and distribute globally. In a previous statement, HDT Bio CEO and president Steve Reed said: “An important part of HDT’s mission is establishing value-sharing partnerships with drug companies in historically underserved countries. Our goal is to empower our partners to produce and distribute innovative medicines at affordable prices.”