The global race to find virus vaccine

Government agencies, regulatory authorities and non-profit organisations have thrown their weight behind research institutions in the race to get a coronavirus vaccine to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

As of yesterday, infections had hit 1.7 million globally, with more than 109,000 deaths.

The following countries have set themselves apart in the race to find a vaccine.

AUSTRALIA

On April 8, Novavax, a Maryland-based biotech company, said it would begin human trials in Australia in mid-May for a vaccine it is developing.

On the same day, stem-cell company Mesoblast said it would launch a 240-patient clinical trial that would test if cells derived from bone marrow could help patients who developed a deadly immune reaction to the coronavirus.

Silviu Itescu, the Mesoblast CEO, said the company decided to carry out the tests on Covid-19 patients because the product it is developing has shown good results in children who developed a similar deadly immune response.

According to the New York Times, nine coronavirus patients at Mount Sinai Hospital in the US have received the Mesoblast treatment on an emergency basis.

Doctors there said the initial response was promising. Six patients were removed from ventilation and others were being weaned off or had remained stable — a welcome development when most patients who need ventilator support do not survive.

UNITED STATES

A vaccine made by the biotech company Moderna is already in a clinical trial, which was launched on March 15. About two-thirds of trial participants have received the first of two doses.

Another vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals was injected into the first adult volunteers last Monday. This is the second phase of its clinical trials, which uses a skin-deep shot that feels like a simple skin test, instead of the usual deeper jab.

“It’s the most important trial that we’ve ever done,” John Ervin of the Center for Pharmaceutical Research told The Associated Press.

Inovio’s study is set to test two doses of its vaccine, INO-4800, in 40 healthy volunteers at the Kansas City research lab and the University of Pennsylvania.

Inovio is working with Chinese researchers to begin a similar study in China soon.

Healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson expects to start clinical trials for a vaccine it is developing in September, and has received $500 million (Sh53 billion) for it from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

ETHIOPIA

Ethiopia, in a statement released by the country’s health ministry this month, said “a domestic treatment drug” is being developed by local traditional medicine experts.

The ministry said the drug is being made by integrating traditional medical knowledge with modern science, and had undergone basic research procedures and was successful in laboratory modelling processes.

“Since the outbreak, different Ethiopian scientists both in the country and abroad have been carrying out research,” said Innovation Minister Abraham Belay, adding that the lab research phase of the project has been completed.

“It has passed through various testing stages and the green light has been given for further clinical trials. The next step is testing the product.”

 UK

Researchers at Oxford University, led by Sarah Gilbert, are planning a safety trial on humans of what is expected to be the UK’s first coronavirus vaccine next month.

The same vaccine will start animal trials this week at the Public Health England (PHE) laboratory near Salisbury, according to The Guardian.

Normally, animal trials must be completed before human trials can start, but because similar vaccines have worked safely in trials for other diseases, the work has been accelerated.

“We are conscious that a vaccine is needed as soon as possible; certainly between June and July, when we expect a huge peak in mortality,” said Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford.

“This is not a normal situation. We will follow all standard trial safety requirements, but as soon as we have a vaccine that’s working, we anticipate there will be an accelerated pathway to get it deployed to save lives. The more vaccine we can provide sooner, the better.”

Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had earlier said a vaccine was 12 to 18 months away. This was echoed by the UK chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance.

Prof Hill, however, said the Oxford team and others were “aiming for much earlier”.

The Oxford trial is expected to recruit people from a range of ages. Scientists will be particularly keen to see how it performs among older people who are most vulnerable to the virus, and tend to respond less well to vaccinations because of their weaker immune systems.

CHINA

Barely a week after Chinese scientists finished injecting an experimental coronavirus vaccine into their first group of volunteers, official news outlets reported last Thursday that a second batch of participants was being recruited.

The trial programme is recruiting 500 people aged 18 or older who reside in Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

China commenced phase one clinical trials on March 16. Beijing’s clinical trial, which handed the vaccine to 108 subjects on April 2, is being carried out by a team led by Chen Wei, a virologist in China’s military.

JAPAN

Japanese biopharmaceutical firm Anges Inc said last Tuesday that it had partnered with Osaka University to complete development of a DNA vaccine against coronavirus. Anges Inc said it would begin testing the vaccine on animals soon.

DNA vaccines are produced using an inactivated virus and can be manufactured faster than protein-based vaccines, according to Anges Inc.

Market leader Takeda Pharmaceutical is also working on a plasma-derived therapy, while the active ingredient in Fujifilm Holdings Corp’s Avigan anti-flu drug is being tested as a treatment in China. Kenya and Japan are in talks on launching the latter drug in Kenya.