As countries are implementing extreme measures to arrest the growing concerns due to COVID-19, all eyes are collectively looking in hope for an elixir – a viable vaccine. Various research organizations, government institutions, academia and pharma giants across the globe are working and collaborating at an unprecedented pace to formulate a vaccine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are already two clinical trials underway and more than 60 vaccine candidates in pre-clinical evaluation. On an average, 10.7 years are taken from the pre-clinical stage for the vaccine to be developed. A vaccine for EBOLA virus was released after 5 years. However, analysts are being Panglossian and expect a vaccine to be available in early-mid 2021. To augment the fight against coronavirus innovative regulatory mechanisms, enhanced manufacturing processes and new technoloys platforms have come to the forefront. An artificial intelligence-driven platform for drug discovery has identified nine potential drugs for treating Covid-19 and six of them are already approved in many countries. Many countries are adopting several initiatives in their quest for a cure or vaccine.
mRNA Vaccine
Pfizer is partnering with BioNtech for utilizing mRNA (messenger RNA) technology to develop the vaccine. This vaccine is expected to go for human trials in April. The mRNA technology platform is widely used for finding a cure of infectious diseases due to the low cost involved in the production and its better safety profile. Sanofi has also undertaken mRNA vaccine research and plans to begin the clinical testing by end of this year.
Blood Plasma Therapy
The underlying principle behind the blood plasma therapy is that the blood of a cured COVID-19 patient would have developed certain antibodies that can help a severely ill patient combat the virus and aid in recovery. The same therapy has been successfully implemented for treatment of other infectious diseases in past such as SARS, MERS and HINI. ICMR (India Council of Medical Research) considers this as a viable option of treatment in the absence of a vaccine and could try it out in few states in India. There have been few studies in China and US highlighting that few COVID patients have recovered using this therapy.
Anti-malarial and Anti-viral Drugs
Although there is no robust study which substantiates the effectiveness of the anti-malarial drug-Hydroxychloroquine to fight off coronavirus, many countries are vouching its use. India is the biggest producer of this drug and has agreed to export it to US, Israel and other countries in need. The potential usage of this drug against COVID-19 is under investigation in numerous trials. If proven effective, then this could a potential savior as the drug is cheap and can me made easily available where required.
Sesderma, a Spanish firm has claimed to successfully treat 75 COVID19 patients in Spain with its immune-strengthening supplemental drug. The company plans to work with ICMR in India for further clinical trials and is successful, this drug could be potential solution to end the pandemic.
Clearly, swift work is being carried out to speed up the process of discovering a potential solution that could end this crisis. The challenges for developing a vaccine are multifold but human resolve has been able to overcome massive hurdles in the past. It’s just a matter of time and till then the entire human race is hoping for the miraculous covid killer.
