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As the world grapples with coronavirus disease (COVID-19), scientists compete to develop treatments and vaccines to fight the viral infection. Although many ongoing trials are promising in the fight against the new coronavirus, Italian researchers say they have developed a vaccine that can neutralize coronavirus 2 from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) in animal cells.
The team at Takis Biotech, a biotechnology company based in Rome, Italy, has tested at the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome, which specializes in infectious diseases. The results of this initial study in mice were extremely positive. Following a single dose, the five DNA-based candidate vaccines were able to induce a strong antibody response against the SARS-CoV-2 peak protein in just 14 days.
Binding of the coronavirus spike protein (red) to an ACE2 receptor (blue) in a human cell leads to the penetration of the virus into the cell, as shown in the background. Illustration credit: Juan Gaertner / Shutterstock
One step closer
Most pharmaceutical companies are under pressure to develop a coronavirus vaccine for SARS-CoV-2. Although there are many promising candidates, getting a powerful and effective one takes a lot of work.
However, in the first global advance, scientists developed the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate by culturing antibodies in mice. This is the first time that scientists have found a way to neutralize SARS-CoV-2. The biotech company says it will begin human trials in June.
“According to the Spallanzani Hospital, as far as we know, we are the first in the world to demonstrate neutralization of the coronavirus by a vaccine. We hope this will also happen in humans, “said Luigi Aurisicchio, CEO of Takis Biotech, in a statement.
Tests carried out by Italian scientists show that the vaccine could work against SARS-CoV-2 in humans. Additionally, the company is exploring other cutting-edge platforms with the pharmaceutical company, LineaRx, in an attempt to further develop the vaccine.
To be successful in your business, the biotech company requires the support not only of the Italian government but also of international institutions and partners who want to help speed up the process.
Aurisicchio emphasized that this is not a competition or race, and if companies and scientists joined together, the world could win against the deadly virus.
Will there be a vaccine by the end of the year?
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said it could take up to a year and a half before the world has a vaccine for the new coronavirus.
The statement came after Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, claimed it could have a vaccine ready for emergency use in September. However, Fauci said the most realistic date would be January. Vaccines can generally take five to 15 years before they hit the market, but by speeding up the process, they can be shorter.
Currently, the record for developing a vaccine is four years, while common varicella and influenza vaccines took 28 years to develop. The measles vaccine was produced at an accelerated rate of four years. Still, the coronavirus vaccine is a long way to go, considering the processes required for approval for human use.
Some say the usual hurdles in vaccine development have been removed amid the coronavirus pandemic, therefore it is faster to have a vaccine that works early next year. Take, for example, the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, in which scientists were able to develop a vaccine against the virus in just five months.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said that intentionally infecting healthy volunteers with the virus may speed up studies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Although such studies may present dangers to participants, they are necessary in extreme situations such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Challenge studies, where vaccines, preventives, and treatments are tested directly on informed volunteers, can help speed development and approval of needed vaccines.
“They may be much faster to conduct than vaccine field trials, in part because far fewer participants must be exposed to experimental vaccines to provide (preliminary) estimates of efficacy and safety. Such studies can be used to compare the efficacy of multiple candidate vaccines and therefore select the most promising vaccines for larger studies, “the report reads.
With more than 100 candidate vaccines today, the health agency examines the feasibility and safety of conducting challenge studies.
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