Coronavirus: Germany Approves Human Vaccine Trials

Germany gave the green light for human trials of potential coronavirus vaccines developed by German biotech company BioNTech.

The trial, only the fourth worldwide of a vaccine targeting the virus, will be initially conducted on 200 healthy people, with more subjects, including some at higher risk from the disease, to be included in a second stage, German vaccines regulator the Paul Ehrlich Institut said today.

BioNTech said it was developing four vaccine candidates under a programme named BNT162 with its partner, pharma giant Pfizer.

Tests of the vaccine were also planned in the United States, once regulatory approval for testing on humans had been secured there.