Clinical trials underway for hepatitis B vaccine

A new Cuban-made vaccine against chronic hepatitis B has entered clinical trials in Cuba plus eight countries and regions in Oceania and Asia with the help of French company Abivax.

HeberNasvac, developed by the Cuban Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana and administered through nasal and subcutaneous injections, is "more effective and safer than the other existing methods in the world" against this illness, Iris Lugo Carro, a specialist in CIGB's Communication Group, told state daily Granma on Tuesday.

The clinical evaluation studies were approved by regulatory authorities in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and China's Taiwan and Hong Kong, the expert said.