COVID-19 vaccine: What are the latest updates?
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, the entire scientific community is progressing forward with the efforts to develop a vaccine that could finally end the pandemic. The work is going on with some very popular teams from the US, China, and other countries leading the tests on humans and animals. Here are all the latest updates related to the vaccine development.
GSK enters clinical trials with its adjuvant
The biggest news in vaccine development was the entry of the UK's GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) project into the clinical trial phase. GSK, hailed as the world's largest vaccine maker, is testing an adjuvant, which will boost the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines developed by partners, making them more effective, especially in elderly groups. It hopes to produce a billion doses of the adjuvant next year.
Clover Biopharmaceuticals' vaccine enters clinical trials
Chengdu-based Clover Biopharmaceuticals has started the first phase of human trials, becoming the sixth Chinese company to take part in clinical tests. The company has said that it will test its antigen-based COVID-19 S-Trimer sub-unit vaccine candidate (SCB-2019) with two separate adjuvant's (one by GSK) on 150 people and will have initial safety data by August, followed by broader studies starting by the year-end.
Chinese Academy of Sciences' candidate moves into Phase 2
Following Moderna, Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has also entered Phase 2 of clinical human trials. In Phase 1, their inactivated coronavirus shot was tested on nearly 200 individuals, and now, a larger population will get the jab in the southwestern province of Yunnan, China. The manufacturing of the vaccine will reportedly be handled in the coming months.
Israel moving through pre-clinical trials
Meanwhile, the Israel Institute for Biological Research has also claimed that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate has shown promising results. The shot, the institute said, was tested on rodents as part of pre-clinical trials and has been able to produce "rapid and potent induction of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2". It should be ready within a year or even sooner, according to the researchers involved.
Sinovac prepping for Phase 3 in Brazil
Finally, China's Sinovac Biotech has announced "positive" results from the clinical trials of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The company claims that its shot, which uses a killed strain of novel coronavirus, has been able to generate an immune response with sufficient neutralizing antibodies in hundreds of healthy individuals, and is set to go into Phase III trials in Brazil pretty soon.
Overall, there are 13 vaccines in clinical trials
Along with Sinovac, five other Chinese organizations have moved into clinical trials. Outside China, American companies Moderna Therapeutics and Novavax apart from AstraZeneca from the UK are racing to kickstart the final-stage trials. In all, we have a total of 13 candidate vaccines that are moving through clinical human trials in outbreak regions (Brazil, India, and the US) around the world.
