Around 139 groups of researchers are in the way of developing a an effective coronavirus vaccine

As the researchers around the world are trying to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, with more than 139 candidate vaccines now tracked by the WHO (World Health Organization).

It normally require years to develop  a vaccine as it go through some phases of testing and additional time to produce at scale, but scientists are in the hope  to develop a covid-19 vaccine within 12 to 18 months.

Why a vaccine is much required to fight the against covid-19?

A vaccine part of the virus – it protect against, stimulating the immune system to develop antibodies. A vaccine must follow higher safety standards compare to other drugs as it can be given to the healthy people.

What is the procedures of testing a vaccine?

Pre-clinical - In this stage of testing, researchers apply the vaccine to animals and observe if it triggers an immune response.

Clinical testing Phase 1 - In this phase of testing, the vaccine are applied to a small group of people to determine if it is safe also to learn more about the immune response it provokes.

Clinical testing Phase 2 - In this phase of testing, the vaccine is applied to hundreds of people so scientists can understand more about the safety of the vaccine and measure the correct dosage.

Clinical testing Phase 3 - In this phase of testing, the vaccine is applied to thousands of people to esure the safety measures of the vaccine – which include any rare  side effects and effectiveness. These trials involve a control group which is given a placebo.

Current status of coronavirus vaccines which are in clinical trials

Sinovac

Sinovac, a vaccine based on inactivated Covid-19 particles, developed by a chinese company. The vaccine has shown a promising safety profile in the early stages of testing, it is now moving into Phase 3 trials in Brazil.

AstraZeneca/University of Oxford

AstraZeneca, The University of Oxford vaccine is delivered via a chimpanzee virus, called the vaccine vector. The vector contains the genetic code of the protein spikes found on the coronavirus and triggers a strong immune response in the human body. The vaccine is in a combined phase trial 2 and trial 3 in the UK and has recently gone into phase 3 trials in South Africa and Brazil.

CanSino Biologics Inc./Beijing Institute of Biotechnology

CanSino Biologics, A Chinese company and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology – a university close to the Chinese military – As per source the vaccine developed by these two companies showed promising results in phase 2 testing (no data from the trial has been published). The vaccine has now been approved for military use, but it is unclear how broadly it will be distributed.

Moderna/NIAID

Moderna, An American biotech company  is developing a vaccine candidate using messenger RNA (or mRNA for short) to trick the body into producing viral proteins itself. No mRNA vaccine has ever been approved for an infectious disease, and Moderna has never brought a product to market. 

University of Melbourne/Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia is conducting a phase 3 trial using a nearly 100-year-old tuberculosis vaccine. This one is not thought to protect directly against coronavirus but might boost the body’s non-specific immune response.

More vaccine candidates

Bharat Biotech

Inovio Pharmaceuticals/ International Vaccine Institute

Wuhan Institute of Biological Products/Sinopharm

Beijing Institute of Biological Products/Sinopharm

Novavax

BioNTech/Fosun Pharma/Pfizer

Osaka University/ AnGes/ Takara Bio

Cadila Healthcare Limited

Genexine Consortium

Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical/ Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Vaxine Pty Ltd/Medytox

University of Queensland/CSL/Seqirus

Gamaleya Research Institute

Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc./GSK/Dynavax

People's Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences/Walvax Biotech.

Medicago Inc.

Imperial College London

Curevac

Source: WHO. As On 17 July