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Pharmaceutical companies are committed to a “science first” approach to Covid-19 vaccine development even as pressure mounts to end the pandemic, said a representative from a Singapore-based industry body.
Vaccine development is a complex process, traditionally taking up to 20 years, said Ashish Pal, vice president of the Singapore Pharmaceutical Industries Association (SAPI).
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“It has a pre-discovery phase that can last two to four years. Preclinical and clinical trials can last between five and 15 years and that does not include regulatory approvals and manufacturing,” Channel News Asia reported Monday, citing Pal.
In the past nine months since the Covid-19 outbreak, around 170 vaccine candidates have shown promise, with 26 of them entering the human testing stage, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which warns against the rush.
“Companies that are developing candidate vaccines are now working on multiple elements of the development process, so (is) in many ways much riskier, given the fact that many things are happening much faster and also together,” Pal said. , who is also the managing director of MSD Pharma Singapore.
“More than ever, there is a need for urgency but most importantly, without compromising security,” he told the channel.
Pal said people could be very comforted by the joint promise made by nine American and European vaccine developers.
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Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, Moderna, Novavax, Sanofi and BioNTech, in a joint statement, have said that they will “uphold the integrity of the scientific process while working towards potential global regulatory filings and approvals of the first vaccines. Covid-19 “.
“Obviously, there are a lot of things about deadlines, but the whole process, as I have described, is complex. It’s probably too early at this point to speculate when a candidate vaccine would be approved, “she said.
A vaccine to immunize the world against the new coronavirus has long been expected, which has so far claimed more than 900,000 lives worldwide.
Earlier this month, the WHO said it does not expect widespread Covid-19 vaccines until the middle of next year. None of the candidate vaccines in advanced clinical trials has shown a “clear signal” of efficacy at a level of at least 50 percent, the WHO had said.
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The challenges were seen when a potential vaccine developed by British drug maker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford pressed the pause button last week, following an unexplained illness in a study participant.
The WHO chief scientist had called the hiatus a “wake-up call,” urging researchers not to be discouraged.
The challenges don’t end with the development of a vaccine. Manufacturing and distribution will be key areas where global cooperation will be required, Pal said.
Since manufacturing will likely have to take place on “an unprecedented scale,” he said, “companies are likely using a variety of options, from expanding manufacturing sites to overhauling or redesigning their global networks, and identifying additional opportunities to complement their networks “.
When asked about industry collaboration given the lucrative option of a successful vaccine, Pal said: “We are already seeing many examples of industry and academia, as well as industry and industry coming together, so I think there are already some very real examples of unique and relevant collaboration cases today “.
The distribution of the vaccines will be based on “an equitable and agnostic distribution at economic levels,” said the vice president of SAPI.
This is followed by the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) facility, a global allocation plan led by WHO, the GAVI vaccine alliance and the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness, he added.
Launched in late April, the COVAX facility works with vaccine manufacturers to provide countries around the world with “equitable access to safe and effective vaccines,” the WHO said. Its goal is to deliver at least 2 billion doses of approved vaccines by the end of 2021.
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For now, it is based on nine experimental vaccines that are in various stages of development and employs a variety of different technologies and scientific approaches.
On whether the emerging trend of “vaccine nationalism” could impede the effectiveness of the COVAX installation, Pal said: “I think what countries choose to do is obviously an individual choice. COVAX is a very important platform right now more than ever (because) its intent is in line with how the world can best navigate this global pandemic. “
Pal highlighted that Singapore plays an important role in the global biopharmaceutical industry.
He pointed out how the industry, which employs more than 24,000 people, remains a bright spot for Singapore’s economy despite the current pandemic-driven recession.
“We have companies that have a significant manufacturing and research and development (R&D) presence in Singapore. The range of manufacturing and R&D is varied and what each company chooses to do is obviously owned by the company, ”said Pal.
