UP Manila is lead implementer of the Solidarity Trials Vaccine (STV) project, an international randomized trial to determine the efficacy and safety of candidate vaccines against COVID-19. The STV aims to uncover second-generation vaccines with greater efficacy, greater protection against variants of concern, offering longer duration of protection, and innovations in storage or routes of needle-free administration.

The Philippines is among the countries included in the STV with its participation approved by IATF Resolution No. 47 as part of the country’s global commitments to collective and inclusive efforts on COVID-19 vaccine development.

The international Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) are being done to increase the likelihood of finding several effective vaccines, ensure rapid accumulation of data to support rigorous evaluation, and foster international deployment with equity of access.

For the WHO STV project, Dr. Marissa Alejandria  and Dr. Jodor Lim are spearheading the trials being conducted across several sites in the country. The public announcement for participants to the RCT was issued during a forum on Dec. 15 amid the possible emergence of the highly infectious Omicron variant at that time.

Apart from the STV project, UP Manila is also a major participant in the global Solidarity Therapeutics Trial (STT) to determine the efficacy and safety of new and repurposed antiviral drugs in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.  The drugs are Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir/Intonavir, Interferon beta-1A, and Remdesivir.

Sixteen public and nine private hospitals in the Philippines are participating in the STT.

Cynthia M. Villamor