Around the world, the scientific community, searching for a vaccine against the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), is not resting. They are working against the clock to ensure that they come up with a form of protection that will save many lives, ease the world’s health systems, and provide peace of mind.
Vaccines are not developed overnight, it takes years to create them in specialized laboratories, and they require preliminary testing to check for safety, prevent side effects and analysis the immune response. Only then do human trials begin.
A complete return to normal life seems remote; only partial approaches to the lifestyle that used to be led have been allowed, but work is underway. According to experts, the way to effectively defeat COVID-19 is through immunity and this can be achieved with a vaccine.
The work that scientists are performing in laboratories around the world is outstanding. Trying to prevent the planet from remaining paralyzed, the experts aspire to offer a quick response, and they are achieving it. There are already some trials going ahead, so the results will soon be available.
According to the World Health Organization, of the 70 vaccine research studies being conducted worldwide, three efforts are significantly advanced and promising. All three vaccines are already in clinical trials, which implies that the results could be available to society sooner than initially estimated.
CanSino Biologics
The Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and the company CanSino Biologics possess one of the most advanced experimental vaccines. It is expected that during the next few months it will conduct the relevant trials and the result of the experimental phase in humans will be known.
During the first stage, about one hundred people received the vaccine in low, high or medium doses. In the second phase, 500 volunteers aged 18 to 65 are expected to be tested. The Chinese company requires the candidates to be clear of the disease: people who suffered from coronavirus, regardless if they were asymptomatic or had mild or severe symptoms of the disease, are not accepted.
The second phase of the study began in mid-April, according to the approval and report of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. According to the information, this vaccine is based on a genetically engineered injection against Ebola.
Inovio Pharmaceutical
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the start of human trials, and results of the experimental vaccine, designed by the biotechnology industry Inovio Pharmaceutical based in Pennsylvania and San Diego, are expected by September.
The company conducting this research is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, and estimates that it will test the vaccine on more than 40 people at the Center for Pharmaceutical Research in Kansas City and the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Inovio’s vaccine uses new technologies and research strategies. This vaccine modifies genetic material, trying to get people to generate the necessary antibodies that fight the virus.
At the moment, no drugs with this type of technological development have been released worldwide, so it could be a challenge because it doesn’t have the same track record as other vaccines. To their credit, the company’s researchers are experts in coronaviruses and have already done a lot of work on a vaccine against MERS CoV.
Moderna Therapeutics
The U.S. company Moderna Therapeutics, based in Massachusetts, is developing a vaccine that has received regulatory approval to avoid some animal testing. This saves scientists a considerable amount of time during the studies, which could deliver a solution to people more quickly.
The studies are funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their scientists are experimenting with new strategies. This vaccine is not made from the virus that causes COVID-19, instead, it is based on an injection with a segment of the virus’ genetic code, created in the laboratory, which is expected to elicit an immune system response that fights the virus.
The first person to receive the vaccine was Jennifer Haller in Seattle, United States, who showed her willingness to help with the study in the early stages of testing during this time of uncertainty.
The company Moderna also made an agreement with the pharmaceutical Lonza Group from Switzerland to manufacture the necessary doses for a large number of people in the world. With this alliance, Moderna can multiply its efforts in the race to bring a functional and effective response.
Other efforts
Another study with positive impact is being developed by the Jenner Institute and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The clinical trial of this vaccine began towards the end of April, expecting to generate an immune response through a weakened version of a chimpanzee adenovirus. Experts estimate that it has an 80% chance of success.
Switzerland is also well advanced in its research and studies. In Switzerland, they are in a stage of safety and efficacy evaluations, through protocols conducted by the Department of Immunology at Inselspital in Bern.
Italy, for its part, has completed laboratory tests, and will start clinical trials on healthy people, adding more than 500 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55. The company responsible for the research is Irbm, which is present in the molecular biotechnology sector.
Image credit: Katja Fuhlert