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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has changed the world dynamics by killing thousands of people and pushing nationwide shutdowns in almost every country. The virus is still running its course and the curve is yet to be flattened in most countries.
Even after the curve flattens, the majority of the world’s population will be at risk of getting exposed to the virus if social lockdowns are lifted. In the circumstances, the development of coronavirus vaccines remains a major concern to build protection for the human immune systems to fight against the deadly coronavirus.
While discussing the coronavirus vaccines, it is worth mentioning that SARS-CoV-2 is not the only human coronavirus that caused an outbreak. Previously, the MERS coronavirus outbreak occurred in middle-east countries and the SARS coronavirus outbreak took place in Asia causing respiratory illness.
MERS and SARS were not close to the COVID-19 virus in terms of contagiousness and deadliness. The important note is, none of these viruses have approved vaccines to date.[1] However, the ongoing research for COVID-19 vaccines with collaborative efforts from the public and private sectors suggests that a vaccine is most likely to be available by mid-2021.
Since the beginning of the outbreak, researchers from different parts of the world have been relentlessly working to find ways to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, almost 1000 registered studies are investigating coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Backed by advanced medical technology, North America and Europe are the frontrunners in conducting coronavirus studies.[2] Underdeveloped health infrastructure and lack of focus on medical research are why South Asian countries lag behind.
The clinical trial processes of vaccines typically involve four phases to evaluate their safety and effectiveness before making them available to the public, which usually takes a long period of time. For COVID-19 vaccine trials, the duration of these vaccines is expected to be expedited.
Around 80 companies and academic institutions are working towards producing the COVID-19 vaccine. Among these, Moderna, a Boston-based biotech company, was the first to enter human trials.
According to the World Health Organization, there are 76 candidate vaccines in development of which 7 candidate vaccines have been approved for clinical evaluation with the rest in pre-clinical evaluation.[3]
| Platform | Developer | Country | Current Stage of Clinical Evaluation |
| RNA | Moderna / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases | United States | Phase I |
| RNA | BioNTech SE / Pfizer | Germany | Phase I |
| DNA | Inovio Pharmaceuticals | United States | Phase I |
| Inactivated | Beijing Institute of Biological Products / Wuhan Institute of Biological Products | China | Phase I |
| Inactivated | Sinovac | China | Phase I |
| Non-Replicating Viral Vector | University of Oxford | United Kingdom | Phase I |
| Non-Replicating Viral Vector | CanSino Biologics / Beijing Institute of Biotechnology | China | Phase II |
The countries that are in the global race for producing coronavirus vaccines include China, the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, and Israel, etc. with contributing a sizable amount of funds.
While discoursing the estimated time of developing coronavirus vaccines, it is imperative to look into how different countries have approached producing vaccines so far.
The Government of the USA has allocated around US$1 billion for the development of coronavirus vaccines. Skipping an important stage of animal testing, Moderna Inc. proceeded with the first human trial in March 2020. The pharmaceutical company has secured US$438 million from the U.S. government funding to further advance its candidate vaccine through clinical testing.[4]
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Johnson & Johnson have collaborated to create a potential vaccine investing more than US$1 billion.[4]
Pharmaceutical giants GSK and Sanofi have committed to putting joint efforts to develop a vaccine. Meanwhile, the shares of biotech companies in the USA that are involved in developing coronavirus vaccines such as Moderna., Novavax, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, etc. have significantly increased over the last weeks.
China currently has the leading number of vaccine candidates with three ongoing human trials. CanSino Biologics, a Tianjin-based biotech firm in China, was the first to move into phase II trials for coronavirus vaccine development.
Besides, eight institutes in China are working on five different approaches to produce a vaccine to tackle COVID-19.[5]
To date, the UK has made the single largest contribution of £200 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), an international alliance to find a coronavirus vaccine.[6] The first human trial in Europe has started in Oxford with a vaccine developed by a team at the University of Oxford.
Besides, another team at Imperial College London expects to begin human trials of its coronavirus vaccine in June. The University of Oxford and Imperial College teams have received more than £40 million of government funding.[7]
The federal government of Australia has allocated US$3 million for research into vaccines and treatment. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has been working on two potential vaccines. The tests of CSIRO are supposed to be the first comprehensive pre-clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccines using an animal model.[8]
The neighboring country, New Zealand, has not contributed to the development of COVID-19 vaccines yet but it has successfully stopped community transmission of the virus by enforcing the toughest restrictions on social and economic lockdowns.
The Government of Canada has pledged around CA$600 million for the development of COVID-19 vaccines. So far, a team of Canadian scientists has successfully isolated, replicated, and grown copies of the coronavirus which will be able to help scientists develop better diagnostic testing, vaccines, treatments, etc. in near future.[9]
The BNT162 vaccine, a collaborative effort from the German biotech firm BioNTech SE and an American pharmaceutical Pfizer, has been approved for the Phase I clinical trial. Initially, the trials are going to be conducted in Germany. However, the companies have plans to conduct trials in the US upon regulatory approval.[7]
Israel’s Institute for Biological Research has been researching the coronavirus under the Government’s supervision.
MigVax, an affiliate of the Migal Galilee Research Institute secured US$12 million in funds to advance the efforts for developing a vaccine.[10]
The developed countries are working together with combined efforts from academic, private, and public sectors to introduce the ultimate solution, a COVID-19 vaccine which is highly appreciable. However, it needs to be reminded that the estimated time to have a foolproof vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months.
Rushing the development of vaccines by skipping stages could end up worsening the condition of patients rather than preventing it. Therefore, researchers should follow the procedures properly to ensure the safety of clinical trials. To tackle the upcoming challenges in the distribution of vaccines, the countries should start preparing themselves from now.
A vaccine will definitely play the most significant role in protecting millions of lives from the novel coronavirus and help society return to functioning as normal. Hence, countries should prepare themselves to assure the equitable distribution of vaccines in the foreseeable future. Till then, current preventive measures should be continued to follow to slow the spread of the disease as much as possible.
Ishrat Jahan Holy, Content Writer at LightCastle Partners, has prepared the write-up. For further clarifications, contact here: [email protected].
The LightCastle team has been analyzing the macro and industry level picture and possible impacts wrought about by the Covid-19 crisis. Over the following days, we’ll be covering the major sectors shedding light on the possible short and long term ramifications of the global pandemic. Read all the articles in the series.
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