Coronavirus Vaccines under trials: When will it be ready?; Know India's role in COVID-19 vaccine

A successful Coronavirus Vaccine has become a need of the hour for the treatment of unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries and scientists have joined hands and are working in collaboration for speedy availability of a suitable vaccine for Coronavirus treatment. A few vaccines have already entered the phase of human trials and testing with the latest being Oxford vaccine project of the Oxford University.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) itself is facilitating the research and development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine by harnessing a global coalition, mapping the vaccines, defining characteristics of an effective vaccine and coordinating for clinical trials of vaccines. As per the WHO, there are currently 7 Coronavirus vaccines that are under human trials. We have shared below the details of all these seven vaccines along with their progress so far.

Let's have a look at these vaccines below:

Coronavirus Vaccines under Human Trials

Now, let's have a look at these vaccines in detail:

Ad5-nCoV (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector)

Developed jointly by CanSino Biological & Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, the Ad5-nCoV (Adenovirus Type 5 Vector) was the first vaccine to enter human trials for the treatment of novel coronavirus. The vaccine is currently in Phase 2 of clinical trials. The vaccine uses adenovirus vector to generate protein antigens for prompting the production of antibodies to fight Coronavirus. The vaccine is expected to be come out in the beginning of 2021.

ChAdOx1

The ChAdOx1 vaccine is being developed by UK-based Oxford University. The human trials of the ChAdOx1 vaccine began in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2020. The trials will be conducted on 510 volunteers aging between 18 years to 55 years. The vaccine could be 80 percent successful in effectively treating the Coronavirus, as per the leading scientists. It may take an year for this vaccine to be launched officially.

INO-4800 DNA plasmid vaccine

US based biotech firm Inovio Pharmaceuticals is involved in the production of INO-4800 Inovio Pharmaceuticals. The vaccine is currently in Phase I of clinical trials and is being supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations between India, Norway and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The vaccine works by injecting DNA into the body of infected patient to treat Coronavirus. The DNA contains the genetic code of coronavirus's spike proteins. The vaccine is expected to be ready by first half of 2021.

Inactivated

Chinese firm Beijing Institute of Biological Products is currently underway for developing the Inactivated vaccine. The vaccine is under Phase 2 of human trials and uses dead Coronavirus cells to trigger immunity against the deadly virus. The vaccine will be out by 2021.

PiCoVacc

Biopharma company Sinovac is carrying out the Phase 1/2 of clinical trials of purified inactivated Coronavirus vaccine (PiCoVacc) for the treatment of COVID-19. The vaccine induces Coronavirus neutralizing antibodies to trigger response from the immune system. The vaccine is expected to come out by the end of 2020.

BNT162 mRNA

Developed jointly by BioNTech, Fosun Pharma and Pfizer, the BNT162 mRNA vaccine clinical trials began recently with the approval granted by Germany's regulator Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) on April 22, 2020. The phase 1 of clinical trials is underway and will involve trials on 200 volunteers. In the second phase, the trials will be conducted on high-risk age groups. It will take an year for the vaccine to complete the trials.

mRNA-1273

US-based Biotech company Moderna has developed the mRNA-1273 vaccine with the support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The vaccine is under phase 1 of clinical trials. The vaccine works on messenger RNA (mRNA) concept. The vaccine injects mRNA into human body to generate response from immune system.

India's role in COVID-19 Vaccine

India will play a major role in the development of Coronavirus vaccine. Pune-based Serum Institute of India has partnered with the University of Oxford for the mass production of ChAdOx1 vaccine, which is currently under clinical trials in the United Kingdom.

Moreover, the Serum Institute of India has also tied-up with the US biotech company Codagenix for the production of live attenuated vaccine for the treatment of contagious novel Coronavirus. The company will soon start conducting animal trials of the vaccine.