A Houston-based firm claims it finished work on a vaccine for the new coronavirus and will begin animal-testing to put it on the path toward approval.
John Price, president and CEO of Greffex Inc., told the Houston Business Journal his company completed its work this past week.
Mr. Price said he did not use a living or killed form of the virus to develop the candidate vaccine. He works with adenovirus-based vector vaccines, with are commonly wielded against cancer and other infectious diseases.
If the vaccine works out, Mr. Price told the Journal he plans to give it away to hard-hit countries.
Greffex reportedly received nearly $19 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health last year.
The U.S. government is working with multiple companies, including drug makers Sanofi and Janssen, to land a vaccine or therapeutic drugs for the new coronavirus, which has become the latest global health scare.
China has reported over 75,000 cases and over 2,000 deaths, while flare-ups in South Korea and Iran have spooked public health officials.
The U.S. said over 30 Americans repatriated from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, and the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan have tested positive.
