“Three innovative [Turkish] vaccine candidates are on the verge of starting phase studies. Work by our professors has the potential to become the third vaccine candidate in the clinical stage in its category in the world,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an award ceremony for the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) in the capital Ankara.
According to the World Health Organization, Turkey has the third-largest number of COVID-19 vaccine projects in the world, behind only the US and China, Erdogan said.
“We have launched a science campaign with the TUBITAK COVID-19 Turkey Platform. In this platform, 436 researchers are carrying out 17 projects on vaccine and drug development,” he added.
Noting that Turkey’s investments in the field are not limited to the pandemic era, Erdogan said Turkey is looking to become a key player in the international arena by developing and producing its own vaccines.
