A health ministry panel has endorsed a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo, with officials saying the ministry will “immediately” proceed to approve the nation’s first domestic coronavirus vaccine.
But the shot — a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine like those marketed by Pfizer and Moderna — is based on the original strain of the coronavirus, making it unlikely that it will be used in Japan or elsewhere.
In a clinical trial involving people age 18 or over, the vaccine — known by its brand name Daichirona — was shown to produce a similar level of neutralizing antibodies against the original strain of the virus as those produced by Pfizer and Moderna, the ministry said.