Overview
Vaccine for any disease normally take years to develop. In Mar-Apr, Experts commented on the development of vaccine for Sars-CoV-2 to take 12-18 months. The earliest availability of vaccine for public was expected to be mid-2021. However, Russia is set to become the first country to launch vaccine for general public by September 2020.
Scientists across the globe are working tirelessly to bring a cure to COVID-19.
In June 2020, a vaccine was approved in China for limited use only.
Currently, there are over 175 global companies working on the vaccine for novel coronavirus.
41 companies are said to be in advanced stage of clinical trials and 135 companies are currently in pre-clinical trial stage.
In a recent development, the 1st approved vaccine for public was announced by a Russian company – Gamaleya Institute for Epidemiology and Microbiology in collaboration with the Defense Ministry.
How does the overall testing process work?
Vaccine preparation strategies
Type of Vaccine | Procedure | Used in treating other viruses | Companies working on corona virus Phase 3 trials |
| 1.Whole-Virus Vaccines Inactivated and Live Attenuated Vaccines | Requires growing viruses | Vaccines for influenza, chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella | •Sinovac •Wuhan Institute of Biological Products / Sinopharm •Beijing Institute of Biological Products / Sinopharm |
| 2.Genetic Vaccines RNA Vaccines | Deliver mRNA for building a viral protein | No approved vaccines; under clinical trials for MERS | •Moderna •BioNTech / Fosun Pharma / Pfizer |
| 3.Viral Vector Vaccines Vaccines Using Adenovirus or Other Viruses | Spike protein gene to a virus known as adenovirus is slipped into cells to unload the gene | Vaccines for H.I.V. and Ebola are in Phase 3 trials | •CanSino •University of Oxford |
| 4.Protein-Based Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines | Yeast or other cells can be engineered to carry a virus’s gene and spew out viral proteins, which are then harvested and put into a vaccine | Hepatitis B | •Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical (currently in Phase 2 trials) |
The Frontrunners in the vaccine race
To read our other insights on Healthcare, click here
