São Paulo’s ButanVac looking for clinical trial volunteers

São Paulo’s Butantan Biological Institute kicked off a registration process on Wednesday, looking for volunteers to take part in trials for Brazilian-made vaccine ButanVac. The phase 1 human trials will last for 17 weeks. The announcement, confirmed by Governor João Doria, comes seven days after Brazil’s federal health regulator Anvisa gave its approval for clinical trials. 

The tests will be conducted by the medical school of the University of São Paulo, in the city of Ribeirão Preto. According to Butantan, 418 volunteers over 18 years old will take part. 

Butantan head Dimas Covas confirmed that over 8 million doses have been produced so far, with 40 million expected to be delivered by October. By that point, the government plans to have already administered at least one vaccine dose to all São Paulo adults.

The ButanVac is the first vaccine produced in Brazil and the only one which does not rely on raw materials imported from abroad — something which has hamstrung the production of other vaccines.

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