Malaysian-made vaccines for dengue, TB, Covid-19 could be available in seven years, says Mosti sec-gen

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Malaysian researchers in the country are working to develop human vaccines against seven types of diseases, which could be available in the market within seven years.

Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) secretary-general Datuk Aminuddin Hassim said the seven vaccines being developed locally are to prevent dengue, Covid-19, cholera, tuberculosis, Leptospirosis, Neglected tropical diseases and colorectal cancer, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

“These seven types of vaccines were developed based on the expertise of local researchers.

“Although these seven types of vaccines have already been made and implemented abroad, this project will support the development of researchers in exploring the latest vaccine production technology, as desired by the government and Mosti,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the development of the vaccines is being jointly undertaken by several local institutions due to the high cost and large scale of the project as part of the National Vaccine Development Roadmap.

"Vaccine research is not cheap, not easy and requires patience and innovative work.

"Most of the projects implemented under Mosti are still in their second and third year. All of these studies have not yet reached the stage to be commercialised,” he was quoted as saying.

He also said the cost of the vaccine has yet to be decided as development is still ongoing.

“This study needs to go through certain phases in terms of pre-clinical and clinical testing and require approval from a regulatory point of view to ensure its safety, efficacy and effectiveness for human use.

“So far, the research carried out and the most advanced is still at the preclinical stage of animals and will be tested at the first-in-human stage,” he was quoted as saying.

He told the newspaper that development of vaccines for human use is complex, high-risk and generally takes between 10 and 15 years.

He said Mosti is working to create a special grant for research and development into human vaccines.

He added that the project is focused on pioneering local vaccine production as well as commercialisation as Malaysia has yet to be recognised as a human vaccine producer.