Dozens of academic institutions and companies around the world are working at record speeds to create a vaccine for COVID-19, which is wreaking chaos across the world.
To date, there are at least 1,363,000 confirmed cases and more than 76,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally.
Typically, vaccines take years to be developed and approved for public use. But the speed at which the pandemic coronavirus is spreading means there’s no time to wait.
Already, the development of candidate vaccines for COVID-19 is progressing more rapidly than that for any other disease in history. The first COVID-19 vaccine was tested on humans less than four months after the first known cases were diagnosed in China. And according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 60 vaccine candidates are going through either clinical or preclinical evaluations.
And it’s not just governments that are pumping money into research and development. Universities, private companies and organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are leading the charge.
In a recent episode of The Daily Show, Bill Gates said his foundation is moving forward with funding the construction of factories for the manufacturing of seven vaccines it deems as promising. That way, a vaccine could be widely available immediately after it is proven effective.
“Even though we’ll end up picking at most two of them, we’re going to fund factories for all seven just so we don’t waste time in serially saying ‘ok which vaccine works’ and then building the factory,” Gates told The Daily Show host Trevor Noah.
At this point, it’s still unknown which vaccines will be proven as the most effective, but promising candidates have emerged.
This is a rapidly evolving story, and this article will be updated as developments occur.
Vaccines in Clinical Evaluations (Human Testing)
Moderna and U.S. National Institute of Health
One of the first and most promising vaccines to prevent COVID-19 was created by way of a collaboration between Moderna, a Massachusetts-based biotech company, and the U.S. National Institute of Health. It is also one of the vaccines financially supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of vaccines to fight emerging infectious diseases. Altogether, the CEPI has invested nearly $30 million in several promising vaccine candidates.
Moderna’s vaccine is “made up of a small fragment of messenger RNA with the instructions to synthesize part of the SARS-Co-V protein S,” Ignacio López-Goñi, a microbiologist at the University of Navarra in Spain, wrote in an article. “The idea is that once introduced into our cells, they would make this protein, which would then act as an antigen and stimulate the production of antibodies.”
The vaccine is now going through stage one of clinical trials. It is being tested on healthy adult volunteers in Seattle and Atlanta so that it can be assessed for effectiveness and safety. The participants are set to receive two injections of either low, medium or high doses of the vaccine, and the researchers will follow up with them up to a year after they take the second dose.
The researchers hope to begin phase two of human testing by spring or early summer. If proven effective, public distribution of the vaccine could begin in 12-18 months. However, if given emergency use authorization, the vaccine could be administered to select individuals by as early as this fall.
CanSino Biologics and Beijing Institute of Biotechnology
Together, CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology have developed a viral vector-based COVID-19 vaccine, meaning it involves injecting people with a defective virus to trigger a response from the immune system.
In mid-March, they were granted permission to administer clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of their novel COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, 108 healthy adult volunteers are receiving doses of the vaccine at the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
At this point, there is no set date for when their vaccine could be available for public use. However, there is reason to believe that their vaccine may finish testing before any of the others, as they, along with Moderna, are further along than most in the race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine.
“Having committed to provide unconditional support to fight against the global epidemic, CanSinoBIO is determined to launch our vaccine product candidate as soon as possible with no compromise on quality and safety,” Xuefeng Yu, Chairman and CEO of CanSinoBIO, said in a news release.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals
Inovio has a long history of creating vaccines to prevent viruses similar to COVID-19. The company’s technique involves manufacturing synthetic vaccines using DNA of the S gene present in the surface of coronavirus, López-Goñi explained in his article.
Inovio’s vaccine is financially supported by both the Gates Foundation and the CEPI.
On April 6, Inovio received permission from the FDA to start testing its novel COVID-19 vaccine on a group of 40 human volunteers in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Missouri, so that it can be assessed in terms of safety and effectiveness. Each of the 40 volunteers will receive two doses of the vaccine four weeks apart.
The researchers expect it will take until late summer for them to receive the initial immune responses and safety data so that they can move on with clinical trials.
Like so many other companies and educational institutions creating these vaccines, Inovio is working as fast as it can. The company is aiming to have a vaccine ready in the next 12-18 months.
Vaccines in Preclinical Evaluations
University of Pittsburgh
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have developed a vaccine that uses lab-made pieces of viral protein to build immunity. This is a relatively common approach to vaccine making. It’s the same way the flu vaccine works, according to Pitt’s news release.
The Pitt researchers do, however, take a unique approach to administering the vaccine. Instead of being injected through a shot, this vaccine is delivered by way of a finger-tip sized patch made up of 400 tiny needles. The patch “goes on like a Band-Aid,” and the needles, which are made of sugar and protein pieces, dissolve into the skin.
“We developed this to build on the original scratch method used to deliver the smallpox vaccine to the skin, but as a high-tech version that is more efficient and reproducible patient to patient. And it’s actually pretty painless — it feels kind of like velcro,” Louis Falo, co-senior author of the paper and professor and chair of dermatology at Pitt’s School of Medicine, said in the release.
In a study published on April 2, the researchers explained that their novel vaccine had successfully neutralized the virus when tested on mice. Within two weeks of being given the vaccine, the mice produced enough antibodies to fight the deadly virus off for at least a year.
As soon as their vaccine is approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the researchers intend to start phase one of clinical trials.
They have not specified how long it would take for this vaccine to be widely available to the public, but they intend to start clinical trials within the next few months. And, once started, clinical trials will take at least a year, Falo estimated.
University of Oxford
What appears, at this point, to be the most promising COVID-19 vaccine coming out of the UK was created by researchers at Oxford University. Their vaccine is a recombinant vaccine that uses the chimpanzee adenovirus, ChAdOx1. It is also supported by the CEPI.
“Models of this vaccine type have been tested against MERS, influenza, chikungunya and other pathogens such as malaria and tuberculosis, and can be manufactured in large scale in bird embryo cell lines,” López-Goñi explained.
Currently, the Oxford researchers are seeking 510 healthy adult volunteers to partake in clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine. But the clinical trials aren’t scheduled to start for weeks.
In the meantime, the vaccine is being tested on animals in Australia, and the Australian national science agency is assessing the vaccine in terms of its effectiveness and safety.
The Oxford researchers can’t say for sure when their COVID-19 vaccine may be available for public use. But, while initial testing is underway, the vaccine is already being scaled up for larger trials and, potentially, future deployment.
University of Hong Kong
With funding from the CEPI, researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) have developed an influenza-based COVID-19 vaccine. Their technique involves adding a SARS-CoV-2 gene to any non-virulent strain of the flu. If proven effective, their vaccine could be taken as nasal spray.
The researchers just wrapped up animal testing. Overall they are confident in their approach, but have yet to receive the results from their animal testing. The researchers intend to start human testing by June or July.
The HKU researchers have not yet proposed when their vaccine could be available for public use. But the CEPI expects one within the next 12-18 months.
University of Queensland
Using “molecular clamp” technology previously developed at the school, researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) created a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in just three weeks.
Their technique involves creating a synthesized protein and “clamping” it on to viral cells so that the immune system can detect them easier.
Notably, UQ’s vaccine is the only Australian vaccine candidate supported by the CEPI. And its approach was called “one of the most promising globally to develop the vaccine” by Nobel Laureate and world-renowned immunologist Professor Peter Doherty.
Clinical trials will likely not begin until July, but the vaccine will be widely manufactured at the same time. So, when proven effective, the vaccine can be widely and quickly administered.
There is no set timetable for the UQ COVID-19 vaccine. But, due to a recent uptick in donations, UQ officials are confident the vaccine could be ready in about 12 months.
Novavax
Novavax, a biotech company based in Maryland, is actively developing a type of recombinant vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The vaccine relies on nanoparticle technology that Novavax has used in the past to prevent respiratory infections like SARS and MERS.
“Our previous experience working with other coronaviruses, including both MERS and SARS, allowed us to mobilize quickly against COVID-19 and successfully complete the critical preliminary steps to engineer viable vaccine candidates,” Stanley C. Erck, President and CEO of Novavax, said in a news release.
With support from the CEPI, Novavax is currently assessing multiple recombinant nanoparticle vaccine candidates in animals. And the company intends on moving to clinical trials by “late spring.”
The company has not released any information regarding when a potential vaccine would be widely available.
Johnson & Johnson and U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
Since January, Johnson & Johnson and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a part of the HHS established to aid in keeping the nation safe from emerging diseases, have been working to identify and develop a vaccine for COVID-19.
Although they have not yet released their vaccine, the two groups do have a leading vaccine candidate. And, together, they have dedicated more than $1 billion towards research, development and testing.
By way of a March 30 press release, Johnson & Johnson announced that clinical tests on humans are expected to be underway by September, and the vaccine could be available for emergency use authorization by early 2021.
University of Miami and Heat Biologics
In mid-March, the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine and North Carolina-based biopharmaceuticals company Heat Biologics and decided to team up to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.
“Our approach is designed to reprogram live cells to continually secrete antigens that activate a robust, long-term immune system response,” Natasa Strbo, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and leader of the Miller School research team, said in a news release.
The researchers are focused on creating a vaccine that would not only protect against this specific strain of coronavirus, but also against potential future mutations of the virus.
At this point, though, their efforts are still in the fundraising stage. The vaccine has not yet been tested on animals or humans.
It’s still unclear when testing the vaccine will happen, let alone when it could be available to the public.
Israel Institute for Biological Research
By order of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has begun testing a novel COVID-19 vaccine on rodents, according to Reuters. Israel is known for secrecy, but during the last week of March, IIBR chief innovation officer Eran Zahavy said the institute would be shifting its entire focus to COVID-19. Three groups are dedicated to developing a vaccine and others are working on treatments.
Little is known about when the vaccine could be available for widespread use or when the Institute will even start testing on humans, but they have made “significant progress,” according to Reuters.
Conclusion
Notably, the race for a vaccine has become a global effort. Around the world, researchers, government organizations and private donors are all working collectively to stop the suffering and deaths caused by COVID-19.
At this point, nobody knows which vaccine will emerge as the most effective. But, there are some viable candidates.
