Treatment Race Picks Up Pace: 70 Coronavirus Vaccines Under Development

How Did The Story Begin?

That was on December 31st, 2019 when WHO was notified about some unusual pneumonia whose causative indication was not trapped, in Chinese city of Wuhan, located in Hubei province in China. Then, on January 7th, 2020, Chinese authorities did not hesitate to term SARS-CoV-2 as possible factor causing the disease and WHO called this growing menace, as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as on February 11, 2020. Preparing a response to such disease, WHO set-up a Research and Development Blueprint to build-up diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics in a speedy way.

Present Tense Situation:

Scientists, around the world, are working round the clock, brainstorming, checking, observing different chemical compound combinations, testing, coordinating among others in the global medicine fraternity, but in the most frantic effort than ever before, only to bring forth, possible medicinal ways for Covid-19, a daemon which stairs right in their eyes. As fallout, 70 contender vaccines are said to be okayed for possible therapeutic trials, as per paper released by WHO earlier this week.

Complementing such efforts, China based CanSino Biological has partnered with Beijing Institute of Biotechnology and is said to have ahead of such contest on the back of claim that their only vaccine has moved into the second lap of trials, passing from first.

Evidently, world scientists are critically thinking and shaking their learning, rummaging their experience and finding and are still feel comfortable enough to watch out for unique chemical compounds sets by opting out-of-the box formulations, in a desperate bid to formulate an antidote to check Covid-19 pandemic.

Such desperation in research has proved fruitful too, as 70 unique vaccines are said to be under development at present. But the gloomy downside is that the final approval is still a long haul process and would take around 18 months starting from now, before it will be a supply for therapeutic consumption across the world.

Besides, only 3 of these 70 vaccines are said to be administered in clinical trials, i.e. tested on humans, with the inherent agenda of determining the efficacy and usefulness and researchers argue scores of phases to cover.

Here, US based Moderna and Inovio Pharmaceuticals assert to carrying out humans testing but they are still engaged in efforts to clear phase 1. Now, we are left 67 medicines showing promise to wither away coronavirus carnage, but such are still under development.

Hopes Fly High On Existing Drug Range:

Other than checking for new ways of finding possible drug solutions, scientific thoughts are also focussed upon currently available drug patents as they check for possible effective treatment with these and are not just waiting for any new drug to be crowned as befitting reply to Covid-19 outburst.

Now, in such a race of research and academic effort, AstraZeneca, a prominent healthcare group in Britain has also jumped in, announcing that clinical trial of Calquence, an approved drug for leukaemia treatment is slated to begin soon with the objective of checking how one’s immune system is emboldened in view of Covid-19 resistance. Encouragingly, such a trail has found huge support in USA and in some European countries, where such trail is likely to be replayed.

Now, in the expansive ocean of research, Gilead’s remdesivir, also cruises majestically, which is a drug, majorly developed to combat Ebola. The good news is that 68% of patients already reflected a promising efficacy of this drug, as per New England Journal of Medicine. Nevertheless, medicine experts emphasize restraint, since such is not a standardized study and such observation came to light accidentally in a scenario marked typically as “compassionate use”, for those suffering with critical illness and that lack any prescribed and standardized therapies.

In the meantime, safe administration of anti-malarial drugs Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine has also invited large scale concerns, after US President Donald Trump referred to these as promising solution to Covid-19. Making matter worse, the Chloroquine trial was stopped in the middle in Brazil, when heavy dose resulted in severe palpitation.

Addressing the world community of coronavirus on Monday, April 13, 2020, Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of Health Emergencies Programme under WHO, outlined, ”The medical and research community are really taking the potential of hydroxychloroquine seriously and chloroquine seriously, and it’s currently involved in a number of different trials”.

He went on to say, ”There is no empirical evidence, there is no evidence from randomized control trials that it works, and clinicians have also been cautioned to look out for side effects of the drug.”

WHO Measured Response:

WHO has called upon a bunch of illustrious from various inter-related fields, to coordinate to put up a tough fight against Covid-19, by developing a potential vaccine to deal with it. Further, in an effort to hamper the easy flow of this virus, a handful of recommendations have been made. Finally, the group is immensely grateful to everyone among us, for having placed our trust in global scientific fraternity.

In short, owing to Covid-19 outbreak, world science community is jointly putting efforts and irrespective of our nationalities, everyone is now considered as significant instance of a human race.

WHO Came Up With A Declaration:

We are scientists, physicians, funders and manufacturers who have come together as part of an international collaboration, coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO), to help speed the availability of a vaccine against COVID-19. While a vaccine for general use takes time to develop, a vaccine may ultimately be instrumental in controlling this worldwide pandemic. In the interim, we applaud the implementation of community intervention measures that reduce spread of the virus and protect people, including vulnerable populations, and pledge to use the time gained by the widespread adoption of such measures to develop a vaccine as rapidly as possible. We will continue efforts to strengthen the unprecedented worldwide collaboration, cooperation and sharing of data already underway. We believe these efforts will help reduce inefficiencies and duplication of effort, and we will work tenaciously to increase the likelihood that one or more safe and effective vaccines will soon be made available to all.

A few Signatories In The List:     

Randy A. Albrecht, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA

Mohamad Assoum, Mercy Global Health

Luigi Aurisicchio, on behalf of Takis Biotech, Italy

Dan Barouch, Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, USA

Trevor Brasel, The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), USA

Jennifer L Bath, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies, Canada

Sina Bavari, Edge BioInnovation Consulting and Management, USA

Maria Elena Bottazzi, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA

Gerhard Beck, Austrian Medicines and Medical Devices, Austria

Tom Brady, Flow Pharma Inc, USA

Faisal Mahmood