© Provided by The iResults from trials of a Covid vaccine that is being manufactured in Scotland concluded it was well tolerated and safe after testing the vaccine on 153 people (Photo: Reuters)
A Covid vaccine that is being manufactured in Scotland has shown a "strong immune response" of up to 90 per cent in early trials.
French biotech company Valneva, which has produced the vaccine in Livingston, announced the preliminary results on Tuesday, and concluded it was well tolerated and safe after testing the vaccine on 153 people.
Results of phase one and phase two of the study found that the vaccine was "highly immunogenic with more than 90 per cent of all study participants developing significant levels of antibodies" to the Covid virus spike protein.
Participants who received a medium dose showed an 89.8 per cent immune response, and those given a higher dose showed 100 per cent.
The Valneva vaccine also induced T-cell responses, which help the body fend off a virus and play a role in long-lasting immunity.
And an independent data safety monitoring board didn't identify any safety concerns.
It will now move to a phase three clinical trial which will test up to 5,000 people, including participants in Scotland.
Speaking to BBC's Good Morning Scotland, Valneva's chief financial officer David Lawrence said: "I think it's down to the design of the vaccine that we've made - we're following a very tried and tested technology.
"Now that we've got our production up and running we can tweak the production process to put in a different variant - we started working with the original Wuhan strain, but we can put in a South African strain.
"All of the trials we're doing should remind people it's important for people to volunteer and participate in clinical trials."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock the vaccine would play an "important role" in protecting communities if it is approved.
He said: "This vaccine will be made onshore in Livingston in Scotland, giving another boost to British life science, and if approved will play an important role in protecting our communities.
"I look forward to seeing the results of the upcoming phase three trial."
The UK has an in-principle agreement for 60m doses of the Valneva jab, with an option to acquire a further 130m doses between 2022 and 2025.
Britain has also ordered 30m doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, which has been shown to be 66 per cent effective in preventing coronavirus infection.
Both the Valneva and Johnson & Johnson jabs will need regulatory approval for use in the UK, once data from later-stage trials becomes available.