From Coronavirus vaccine to antibody treatment, here is all you need to know about COVID-19 treatment updates

With cases rising every day and researchers around the globe involved in a record race to come up with a cure or treatment for COVID-19, coronavirus has wrecked havoc all across the globe. WHO has said that the virus is continuing to spread at an exponential rate across countries, with India now the fifth-worst affected country in the world.

While we wait for the worst to be over, here's a recap of all what is latest from coronavirus vaccine developments and experimental treatments taking place:

In the most positive development reported of late, a group of cancer researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified parts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which cause COVID-19 to target with a vaccine, using the same strategy to trigger an immune response in cancer cells. Using this strategy, researchers believe that the resultant vaccine could provide a long-term immune response and prevent the spread of the virus.

Speaking on the same, senior author, John M. Maris, MD, the pediatric oncologist said, "In many ways, cancer behaves like a virus, so our team decided to use the tools we developed to identify unique aspects of childhood cancers that can be targeted with immunotherapies and apply those same tools to identify the right protein sequences to target in SARS-CoV-2."

Even as Patanjali group has kickstarted the pre-clinical trials for a herbal vaccine candidate, the group's founder and popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev has claimed that tried and tested herbs like ashwagandha and giloy may hold a possible "cure" for the viral infection. Even as the tall claim stands debated, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has observed that certain herbal compounds present in medicinal plants which are found in Ayurvedic medicines have shown encouraging results against viruses with properties similar to that of the novel coronavirus.

In several states, Ayurvedic herbs are also being tested as prophylactic medicines against COVID-19. Further research is still awaited on the same.

Meanwhile, an interesting study done by IIT Delhi's DAILAB and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) made the discovery that ashwagandha can prove to be the crucial medicine in fighting coronavirus and can be even used in the development of a vaccine because of its natural biochemical compounds which can work the same way as other anti-coronavirus drugs.

As the global race for vaccine hunt intensifies, China, which is working on the development of five major vaccines has stepped up efforts, with new reports emerging that we could see a vaccine available in the market before autumn, The country's medical experts have begun drafting guidelines for emergency usage and a prescription for the same. The country's top respiratory expert also added that while large scale immunisation against coronavirus will take upwards of a year to happen, emergency usage for the vaccine, which are in mid-scale clinical trials can be expected before the end of year. The news is being interpreted as a response to the US's procurement of two million doses of vaccines which are "ready to be used".

Even as experts debate whether the infection has reached the community transmission stage in many affected parts, top officials from WHO made a big medical breakthrough by confirming that viral transmission from asymptomatic patients (i.e, those who are silent spreaders) may be fairly low in comparison to those with typical symptoms. The statement follows a large scale study which found out that asymptomatic people were less contagious than those who presented symptoms.

British Pharma giant, AstraZeneca, who is currently one of the frontrunners in the race for vaccine development has also placed a promising contender in the race to beat COVID-19. Preliminary studies have shown that a blood cancer drug, Calquence, which is manufactured by the firm seems to show positive results in treating COVID-19 positive patients. The results of the same have been published in Science Immunology, which is a medical journal.

The study observed that the drug, which is typically used in cancer treatment was able to suppress and neutralize cytokine storm-causing protein in the virus-infected cells, which has been known to cause mortality in severely affected patients.

Another entrant in the vaccine development race are researchers based out of London's Imperial College, who are working on creating a vaccine prototype which will be based on RNA technology, that aims to effectively kill the virus. Although there's a lot of clinical development that it yet to happen, the group has set up a special company to distribute the vaccine to the poor countries, rather than market it by partnering with a big pharma giant, like other vaccine makers.

As the cases surge in the country, healthcare professionals are experimenting with many drugs to battle a load of coronavirus infections. In a recent development, Bharat Serum and Vaccines Limited (BSVL) received ready approval from the drug regulatory board to kickstart clinical trials for one of its drugs, "Ulinastatin" for coronavirus treatment. The drug, which is traditionally used to treat conditions like sepsis and pancreatitis is being repurposed to treat COVID-19 patients showing mild to moderate symptoms. According to reports, the first patient shall be enrolled in the month of July, with trials to be held in 8-12 centres across the country. The firm has said that it will take 6-8 months for the data from the clinical study to be tabulated.