Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has invested $ 388 million in US biotechnology firm Novavax to find a vaccine against the virus.

Axar.az informs that, the company said in a statement that it has launched the first phase of research to find the vaccine.

Novavax said the vaccine, called NVX-CoV2373, will be tested on 130 people in Australia. If the first tests are positive, the second stage will be tests between different age groups in different parts of the world.

The company said it plans to receive preliminary results of its human tests in June. The organization investing in Novavax is the Oslo-based Epidemic Preparedness Coalition (CEPI), founded by Bill Gates.

CEPI Director Richard Hutchett said that if the vaccine proves to be reliable and effective, production will begin without delay for those in need.