The Takis and Reithera, two Italian COVID-19 vaccines which are in an experimental phase, hope to be approved by Italian and European authorities.
The first COVID-19 vaccine is Takis, developed with the support of Rottapharm Biontech.
It is a DNA-based vaccine, "the first of its kind in Europe," officials told members of Rome's Foreign Correspondents Association.
The research is in the first phase (with 80 volunteers) and Luigi Aurisicchio, founder of Takis, hopes that if all goes well the product will be able to be marketed in about a year.
Aurisicchio, answering a question from AMNA, stressed that "the name of his company comes from the Greek adjective fast, because the goal of researchers is to be able to offer, with great speed and efficiency, therapeutic solutions."
So far, seven million euros have been earmarked for the Takis COVID-19 vaccine research, but officials want to secure state participation.
The other vaccine, Reithera, is in the second phase of experiments, which involves 600 volunteers at 26 centers.
For the third phase a lot will depend on the course of the pandemic and the results of the experiments that are in progress.
This vaccine uses a viral vector, such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, and the development of Rome Infectious Diseases Hospital, Lazzaro Spallanzani, the largest in the country, is also involved in its development.
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