JEDDAH: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) on Saturday launched the Saudi Center for Manufacturing and Developing Medical Vaccine Proteins. The project, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will be established in partnership with Research Products Development Co. and SaudiVax. The center will manufacture vaccines, which will be the first line of defense against epidemics in the Kingdom, such as coronavirus. The new establishment will be located at KAUST research complex and is set to host several leading local and international research and development firms. Three KAUST startups were named on the “Top 10” list of the best companies in the Startup Istanbul 2018 international competition, which took place from Oct. 19-22. iyris, Oaesis and UnitX were selected from the top 100 startups out of over 90,000 applicants from over 80 countries in Asia and Europe. The university supports emerging companies on their journeys from the early stages of ideation to marketing and financial support.