As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the globe and countries desperately try to contain the virus, the need for a vaccine is abundantly clear. The good news is that the number of potential vaccines in development continues to grow, with several companies already conducting advanced stage clinical trials.
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Clinical trials for a vaccine are generally divided into three phases: phase one involves testing on a small group. If the vaccine proves safe in small numbers, then it moves on to phase two, testing on a larger number of people. Phase three, the last and most rigorous stage, involves large-scale testing with tens of thousands of people and mainly focuses on proving the efficacy of the vaccine.
The following companies are currently in a race against time to develop a coronavirus vaccine that can be brought to market as soon as possible:
Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline
In July 2020, French drugmaker Sanofi and British pharmaceutical giant GSK announced a collaborative effort, with the end goal of supplying millions of doses of their Covid vaccine to the US government. The EU and UK have also secured their own deals. This is one of two vaccines being developed by Sanofi, which has also partnered with US-based Translate Bio. However, the collaboration with GSK is further along now and already in phase two trials.
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Pfizer and BioNTech
Pfizer, the US drug titan, is developing vaccine candidates worldwide with its partner BioNTech — except for in China, where Pfizer is working with local Fosun Pharma. One of their candidates for testing currently straddles phases two and three. BioNTech developed the mRNA vaccine platform being utilised, and Pfizer is contributing established expertise in vaccine R&D, manufacturing, and distribution.
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Moderna
Moderna’s experimental coronavirus vaccine appears to be safe, and is showing signs of success in older adults, according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. That is a very good sign, considering that many vaccines do not work as well in the elderly as in younger people — and in the case of Covid-19, it is the older population that is at higher risk.
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Novavax
US-based Novavax recently entered phase three of testing in a trial taking place in Britain, in partnership with the UK government’s Vaccines Taskforce. Data obtained from the trial will be used by the company to apply for regulatory licenses in the UK, EU and other countries.
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AstraZeneca
British drug company AstraZeneca teamed up with educational giant, the University of Oxford for its coronavirus vaccine candidate. Clinical trials hit a roadblock recently when a participant became ill, causing a pause in the study. Despite the setback, the company claims it should still be ready to submit the vaccine for regulators’ approval by year’s end, with distribution beginning in early 2021.
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Johnson and Johnson
American pharma giant Johnson & Johnson recently announced that it is ready for phase three, and the results could arrive by the end of the year or the beginning of next. In 2021, a billion doses could be produced, which would each require only a single injection — compared to two doses required by vaccines currently in development by Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
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While experts predict that we are still some time away from a coronavirus vaccine that will be available to the public, in the meanwhile, stocks from these companies are sure to see movement as each gains ground in the vaccine’s development. Be sure to add them to your watchlist to stay informed.