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SINGAPORE – Scientists around the world are studying nearly 200 Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
Of these, 44 are already in clinical trials, which means they are being tested in humans.
The Straits Times highlights some of the prominent candidates in the Covid-19 vaccine race.
1. Duke-NUS and Arcturus Therapeutics: Lunar-Cov19
This candidate vaccine was developed by Singaporean researchers at Duke-NUS and the American pharmaceutical company Arcturus Therapeutics.
Duke-NUS School of Medicine professor Ooi Eng Eong said the results so far show that the potential vaccine could be effective as a single dose, setting it apart from many other Covid-19 vaccines in development.
Preliminary findings also indicate positive responses in both safety and human immune responses.
Later-stage clinical trials, typically involving thousands to tens of thousands of people in multiple jurisdictions or countries, could begin before the end of this year.
2. Pfizer and BioNTech: BNT162b2
Data from an ongoing large-scale human trial has shown this experimental vaccine to be 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19. It uses synthetic mRNA to activate the immune system against the virus.
The possible vaccine being developed by US companies is still awaiting safety data, which could arrive later this month.
But it must be kept at minus 70 degrees C or below, which is a logistical hurdle as most hospitals do not have such storage facilities.
The vaccine can be kept in an ultra-low temperature freezer for up to six months, or for five days at 2-8 degrees C, a type of refrigeration commonly available in hospitals.
3. Moderna Therapeutics: mRNA-1273
A potential vaccine from the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health has also made its way into human trials, having enrolled 30,000 people at 89 sites spread across 30 states and the District of Columbia.
The company is still monitoring the results of its phase 2 trials, which involve testing the vaccine in people with the disease.
Moderna had said in May that it was on track to deliver at least 500 million doses of the vaccine a year, starting in 2021, in collaboration with Swiss manufacturer Lonza.
However, in an interview with The New York Times in September, the firm said the vaccine is unlikely to be publicly available in the first half of 2021.
4. Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology: Sputnik V
The Russian health ministry said on Monday (November 9) that the vaccine is more than 90 percent effective, citing data collected from vaccines from the public rather than an ongoing trial.
Russia is launching the vaccine for home use even though late-stage trials have not yet been completed.
It is preparing to publish preliminary results of the ongoing large-scale human trial, known as Phase III, this month. The trial involves 40,000 people in Moscow.
5. AstraZeneca: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19
Britain’s Astra Zeneca and her partner, the University of Oxford, are already in the final stages of clinical trials in other countries and are currently looking for up to 50,000 volunteers in total from Brazil, the UK, the US and South Africa.
Preliminary results from the first two phases of the clinical trial showed that the vaccine triggered a strong immune response, including an increase in antibodies and T-cell responses, with only minor side effects, such as fatigue and headache.
However, the AstraZeneca trials were stopped for a month due to a safety review on September 8, as one patient had an unexplained adverse reaction.
Trials were restarted in the US a month later and are ongoing.
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