Turkey's 'most innovative' COVID-19 vaccine candidate passes Phase 1 trials

The Phase 1 trials of Turkey's "most innovative" COVID-19 vaccine candidate have been successfully completed, the country's industry and technology minister announced on Friday.

Mustafa Varank said volunteers are now needed for Phase 2 studies of the virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine developed by scientists under Turkey's COVID-19 Platform.

The minister, who was among the volunteers for the initial phase, said he will also be part of the next stage.

Turkey has multiple vaccine candidates in development, including seven under the COVID-19 Platform.

An inactivated coronavirus vaccine developed by Turkish scientists was included on a list of jabs recognized by the World Health Organization earlier this month.