Taiwanese biotech firm Medigen has won a US$2.3 million international grant to test its COVID-19 vaccine as a mixed-dose booster shot. The grant, which is worth more than NT$60 million, was awarded by a global initiative backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Medigen said it would recruit 960 fully vaccinated subjects in Taiwan for its upcoming trial.

Phase III tests for Medigen are unfolding overseas. One study in Paraguay has just completed recruitment, while the WHO’s Solidarity trial is also getting underway. In the latest development, Medigen has won a grant from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, a group that’s backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With the grant, which is worth more than NT$60 million, Medigen will conduct mixed-dose booster trials in Taiwan.

Charles Chen
Medigen general manager
Regarding mix-and-matched booster shots – sometimes when you use the original vaccine, for instance an mRNA or adenovirus vaccine, you may not see the expected effect. Or the side effects might be more severe. So they see subunit protein vaccines as an option with great potential.

For the trial, Medigen plans to recruit people who have received two doses of AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Medigen. A total of 960 subjects will be randomly assigned to receive a booster shot. They might receive a full or half dose of Medigen, a half dose of Moderna, or a full dose of AstraZeneca. Subjects will be followed up on for six months, to collect data on the persistence of their immune response after vaccination. Interim results are expected in the first quarter of next year. In related news, Medigen said it’s investigating the efficacy of its vaccine against the omicron COVID variant, by building a pseudovirus using the beta strain.

Charles Chen
Medigen general manager
We are constructing what’s called a pseudovirus. This is already a work in progress. So I think that very soon, we’ll be able to take in people who have already received two or three doses of Medigen, and run tests on their serum antibodies. So I hope to have an answer to report to you all very soon.

Chen Shih-chung
CECC
I believe that Medigen is receiving funding based on the outcome of expert assessments of its trial data and other empirical results. That is the reason for these groups’ sizeable investment. I believe that everyone will be able to agree that Medigen has a very high probability of success.

Health minister Chen Shih-chung expressed high hopes for Medigen. The domestic developer is making headway toward becoming a booster shot of choice. It’s also working on testing its vaccine against omicron, in hopes of gaining wider global recognition.