Canadian trials have just begun for a prospective COVID-19 vaccine but its Quebec-based manufacturer is already tempering expectations.

Medicago said it dosed the first healthy volunteers on Monday in a 180-person study, making it the first vaccine from Canada among the more than 20 experimental coronavirus vaccines being tested in humans.

Britain's GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said on Tuesday it will develop and test a potential COVID-19 vaccine using its booster technology and Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Medicago's coronavirus-like particles.

The company said its product has generated a positive antibody response in mice ten days after the administration of a single dose.