The world's first "human challenge" trial in which volunteers were deliberately exposed to Covid-19 to advance research into the disease was found to be safe in healthy young adults, leaders of the study said today.
The data supports the safety of this model and could lay the groundwork for future studies to test new vaccines and medicines against Covid-19.
Dublin-listed Open Orphan is running the project, launched in February last year, with Imperial College London, the British government's vaccines task force and the clinical company hVIVO.
Scientists have used human challenge trials for decades to learn more about diseases such as malaria, flu, typhoid and cholera, and to develop treatments and vaccines against them.