COVID-19 Vaccines Move towards Human Trials

Sep, 2020 - By SMI

Currently, around 7 more vaccines are in the early stages of human testing and more than 100 vaccines are in the early stages of development.

From the past two decades, the coronaviruses are spreading across the globe, attacking the respiratory system. They cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to deadly. The recent one is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic) is rapidly spreading across the globe. Scientists/researchers are trying to develop the first vaccine against the virus. However, COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) vaccine results from human trials lead many viable candidates to larger Phase 2 studies. Recently, Moderna, the United States-based biotechnology company has unveiled its Phase 1 data testing a novel COVID-19 vaccine named mRNA-1273.

Now, after Moderna’s recent announcement, two more candidates are emerged offering early data as many candidates are planning to begin phase 2 human trials. New research published in The Lancet journal presents the first peer-reviewed phase 1 data testing a novel COVID-19 vaccine named Ad5-nCoV that is being developed by CanSino Biologics, Chinese drug-maker. However, Phase 1 trials are mainly designed to examine safety in human subjects. The effectiveness of a Phase 1 trial is measured by how well the vaccine stimulates the immune response of the body, neutralizing antibodies and observing the level of T-cells.

However, Ad5-nCoV may face the biggest issue in broader phase 2 trials as it does not generate an effective immune response. Individuals with pre-existing immunity (high level) to Ad5 showed considerably reduced T-cell and antibody responses to the vaccine. Moreover, the research team from Oxford University developed a novel COVID-19 vaccine named ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. However, currently, the vaccine is under development. During Phase 1, the team dosed more than 1,000 individuals and now, for Phase 2, they are planning to recruit more than 10,000 individuals to measure safety and immune responses. At this point, around 7 more vaccines are in the early stages of human testing and more than 100 vaccines are in the early stages of development.