Authorization granted to the Finlay Vaccine Institute to begin clinical trials of new vaccine in collaboration with Ministry of Public Health institutions. The central state enterprise management group BioCubaFarma reports having received permission to begin clinical trials of a Cuban candidate vaccine to prevent COVID-19, capable of producing a strong immune reaction to a SARS-COV-2 infection. Identified as FINLAY-FR-1, the vaccine project led by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, the Center for Molecular Immunology - both affiliated with BioCubaFarma – with the collaboration of the University of Havana’s Chemical and Biomolecular Synthesis Laboratory, has satisfactorily concluded the drug’s development stage and pre-clinical studies in animals, producing the scientific findings required to support authorization, by Cuba’s Center for State Control of Medications, Medical Equipment and Devices (Cecmed), to conduct clinical trials. http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2020-08-20/cuba-moves-closer-to-our-own-covid-1...