Thousands of scientists are racing to find a vaccine for coronavirus. 41 possibilities are in the works. – The Californian

An epidemiologist answers the biggest questions she's getting about coronavirus. Wochit

The first coronavirus vaccine trial began Monday inSeattle when four volunteers got a version of a vaccine against a disease that as of Thursday has killed 150 people in 22 states, with more than 10,000 cases nationwide.

They were the beginning of an all-out effort by thousands of scientists worldwideworking to create vaccines againstthe new coronavirus in what inresearch terms is a blindingly fast response to theglobal threat. As of last week, the World Health Organization had posted a list of 41 possible vaccine candidates on its site.

Still, no one will be lining up this summer for vaccinations. It will be at least a year to 18 months before any vaccine is ready for large-scale use, according to most estimates. Before being deployed, vaccines must go through multiple rounds of testing to make sure they are safe,effective and dont have unintended consequences.

Researchers are not starting from scratch. Work on two previous coronaviruses, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)provide a road map for howto create an immune response toSARS-CoV-2,the virus that causes the illness COVID-19.

USA TODAY analysis: America's coronavirus 'curve' may be at its most dangerous point

We've been flooded with thousands of reader questions on coronavirus. We're answering them.

Some severe cases of coronavirus could result in brain damage, inability to walk

The process was immensely sped up by the decision ofprofessor Yong-Zhen Zhang at theShanghai Public Health Clinical Center in China to publish the virus' genome on Jan. 10.

Early financial support from the Oslo-basedCoalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations(CEPI), a nonprofit global partnership to develop vaccines, also has been crucial.

(Photo: Getty Images)

While no one knows who will cross the finish line with a vaccine first, several companies and groups are off to strong starts, particularly those alreadyworking on SARS and MERS vaccines. Here are some of the noteworthy efforts underway:

This Boston-based company already was working on RNA therapies and vaccines. It began working with the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease in February to create an experimental SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. It began testing its first vaccine candidate on humansMonday. Agroup of four people was given the vaccineand researchers will first study its safety. If after several weeks it appears to be safe, another round of testing will begin to see whether it stimulates their immune system to make antibodies against the virus. It was one of three groups that received funding for the effort Jan. 23 from the CEPI.

The Australian research group was working on molecular clamp vaccines against MERS for several years and had a version showingresults in animal studies. It got funding from CEPI and retooled its research for SARS-CoV-2 in February. The clamp method uses a sequence of amino acids to lock down the spikes SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect cells, allowing the immune system to target it before the virus can activate itself. Testing of the trial vaccine in mice is underway and the group is hoping to begin human trials by mid-year.

This Pennsylvania-based biotech company alsoreceived one of the early CEPI grants. Inovio, was working on a DNA-based vaccine against MERS. The company president said it designed a COVID-19 vaccine candidate in three hours after the genetic sequence was published by the Chinese. The company plans to begin human trials in April.

This German-based company was in the news last week after reports surfaced President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. might buy access to its vaccines only for Americans.CureVac, which wasmainly working on anti-cancer vaccines, uses messenger RNA to make vaccines. It signed a development agreement with CEPI on Jan. 31 to work on SARS-CoV-2. The company hopes to have a possible vaccine ready to test within several months.

Maryland-based Novavax was working on vaccines against SARS and MERS.On March 10 it announced a $4 million award from CEPI to work on a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. It hopes to begin testing in late spring.

A team at Oxford's Jenner Institute in Britain is creating SARS-CoV-2 vaccine seed stock in conjunction with Italian medical product manufacturer Advent. The JennerInstitute wasworking on a vaccine against MERS and currently has a trial underway in Saudi Arabia.

A large consortium of European research universities and biotech companies is working on a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. The effort received nearly $3 million in European funding on March 9 and includes German, Dutch and Danish universities and biotech companies.

This United Kingdom-based company is one of the worlds largest vaccine producers. It has signed an agreement with CEPI to bring GSKs adjuvant systeminto the SARS-CoV-2 mix. Adjuvants can be added to vaccines to boost the immune response they produce. This could decrease the amount of vaccine (once one becomes available) needed per dose, allowing more doses to be produced more quickly.

Researchers at the Chinese academy are working with scientists atCanSino Biologics, a Hong Kong-based biotech company that licensed a vaccine for the Ebola virus in 2017. According to China's clinical trial registration database, the experimental COVID-19 vaccine is in the early stages of safety testing and tests were approved to begin as soon as March 17.

Read or Share this story: https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2020/03/19/more-than-41-potential-coronavirus-vaccines-works/2878796001/

Visit link:

Thousands of scientists are racing to find a vaccine for coronavirus. 41 possibilities are in the works. - The Californian