Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) will participate in a Phase 3 clinical trial of an investigational COVID-19 vaccine to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing COVID-19 that continues to impact millions of people around the world. The clinical trial will test the safety and effectiveness of NVX-CoV2373, being developed by U.S. biotechnology company Novavax, Inc., based in Gaithersburg, MD.

The vaccine trial is being conducted by researchers in UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) as part of their National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-funded Vaccine Treatment and Evaluation Unit (VTEU), and the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN). It adds to the extensive COVID-19 vaccine research that has been underway on campus since early spring.

The principal investigator for this vaccine trial at UMSOM is Monica McArthur, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics. Karen Kotloff, MD, professor of pediatrics, is co-chair for the trial protocol, which will be implemented at multiple sites across the country and Mexico, and plans to enroll up to 30,000 adults. The UMSOM site is expected to recruit up to 500 participants.

Read the full story from University of Maryland, Baltimore.