DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINE FOR SARS

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DEVELOPMENT OF VACCINE FOR SARS: 16.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman asked the Acting Minister for Health (a) what has been the progress in the research to develop a vaccine for SARS; and (b) have the efforts put in this research been as rigorous as when the issue of SARS was at its height last year.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Sir, the development of a vaccine against an infectious disease is a long and time-consuming process. There are three key stages.

First, you need to develop an experimental vaccine which you can then test in animals for (a) safety, (b) ability to elicit a good immune response, and (c) effectiveness against infection and disease.

Second, the experimental vaccine is then tested in humans as the response in humans and animals to the vaccine may be very different.

Finally, the ability of the vaccine to protect people against disease can only be fully evaluated during an actual outbreak.

The efforts to develop a SARS vaccine are underway in several countries including the United States of America, Canada, China and Singapore. None has gone beyond the first stage of animal testing.

For instance, the US National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Centre

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has reported last month that it had developed a DNA-based vaccine against SARS that appears to be effective in mice. But no human clinical trials have been conducted yet.

Locally, the National University of Singapore and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology are working with other institutions to develop a SARS vaccine. The research is currently still at an early stage.

In short, SARS vaccine research development efforts are still being actively pursued. The World Health Organisation has estimated that it would take another four to five years before a SARS vaccine can be commercially available.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Sir, can I ask the Minister how much resources have been placed locally with regard to such a research?

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: As much as the researchers can secure. This comes under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and A STAR supports this. During the SARS crisis, they set aside a certain amount of their research money to support, not just SARS vaccine development but also SARS diagnostic kits. At the end of the day, coming up with a vaccine is an uphill task and requires huge resources. No single country can achieve it. It is now a global effort, a global network, everybody plays a part. So our local efforts ˆ’ NUS and A STAR ˆ’ they work and collaborate with international partners, commercial as well as academic partners. Hopefully, they can succeed.