Coronavirus vaccine updates: Moderna to start last stage testing of its COVID-19 vaccine in July to favourable results of Eli Lilly's antibody treatment, everything you should know about COVID treatment

Even as the countries around the world continue to battle the novel coronavirus, scientists, medical experts and researchers across the globe are working in unprecedented ways to develop any treatment for COVID-19. The viral contagion is spreading at an exponential rate globally and as of now, more than 7 million people have been tested positive for the disease. In the absence of any definitive cure, social distancing measures and practising personal hygiene remain our best bet to protect ourselves.

As of now, there are more than 150 groups all over the world which are developing various vaccines for COVID-19 and currently 10 of them have entered the clinical trial phase. Even though the experts maintain that a vaccine fit for human use can take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to develop, we take a look at some of the latest developments in coronavirus vaccine production.

Johnson & Johnson, which is being touted as another major player in developing a vaccine to combat novel coronavirus is slated to begin its human trials next month i.e. July. It is important to note that the company is proceeding with its clinical trials at least two months ahead of the predicted time frame.

The vaccine candidate developed by J & J is based on adenovirus (a virus causing common cold) and the company plans to test its efficacy and safety against a placebo by dosing both younger and older volunteers. The drugmaker will check the immune safety response of the vaccine candidate in 1,045 individuals in the United States and Belgium.

In another positive development, US-based drug giant Moderna is all set to start dosing 30,000 volunteers with its RNA-based vaccine along with a placebo shot for the final stage testing. For the uninitiated Moderna is of the front-runners in vaccine development for the novel coronavirus and has already procured enough doses to conducted the crucial last stage testing in the month of July.

Drug giant Eli Lilly’s has said that its antibody drug to treat the novel coronavirus patients can be available as quickly as September. The company is currently testing three antibodies therapies to cure COVID 19, one of which is slated to enter clinical trials in the coming weeks, while human trials have already been conducted on the other two therapies.

One of the largest vaccine makers in the world by volume, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with University of Oxford to ramp up trials and vaccine development. SII plans to start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Oxford University in the next 2 to 3 weeks and plans to bring the vaccination for the general public by the end of October if the vaccine candidate gets approved.

The US-based healthcare firm has developed experimental treatment,LY-CoV555, in collaboration with AbCellera Biologics. The drugmaker has already conducted the first phase of trials for its antibody treatment by giving a single dose to coronavirus patients admitted in the hospital in an early-stage trial. The results of the same are expected to be out of the end of June.

The Imperial College of London is developing an RNA-based vaccine which carries the molecular instructions of making the vital spike protein of the novel coronavirus and instructs the human cells how to make it. As a result, the body’s immune response will get triggered and it will produce antibodies fight the coronavirus. The vaccine candidate is all set to enter phase 1 of human trials on June 15 with 300 people. The scientists and researchers are inclined towards making a cost-effective vaccine via a social enterprise namely called VacEquity Global Health (VGH), instead of partnering with any major pharmaceutical company.

China is certainly leading the race when it comes to developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus as currently there are five major vaccine candidates in the country and all of them are different stages of clinical trials. In one of the biggest positive developments, one of these vaccine candidates which has completed the 2nd phase of the trial may be available for “emergency use ” by the end of 2020. It is a joint venture by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co and the companies have already dosed 2,000 people to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate.

One of the front-runners in the race of developing a vaccine for novel coronavirus, Chinese firm Sinovac is 99 per cent sure of its vaccine efficacy. The potential vaccine by the Chinese drugmaker had shown promising results in its animal trials as it was able to develop protective antibodies in monkeys. The vaccine which has been dubbed CoronaVac, largely protected the monkeys from developing an infection as per a report published in online server bioRxiv. Moreover, Luo Baishan, a researcher at Sinovac said that they are 99 per cent sure the vaccine will work as per a report by Sky News.

After successful completion of phase 1 trials of its vaccine candidate mRNA-1273, Moderna Inc has started its mid-stage trials and planes to enrol more than 6,000 volunteers for the same. The US drugmaker is slated to begin its last stage clinical trials in July, as an early trial conducted in the month of March showed that the vaccine was successful in producing protective antibodies in 8 volunteers out of the 45 enrolled for the study. While most of the side-effects of the jab were reportedly minor, a volunteer also experienced 103 fever, nausea and body aches.

AstraZeneca which is all set to mass-produce the vaccine candidate developed by the Oxford University has recently approached US rival Gilead Sciences to join hands for the production of the vaccine candidate AZD1222, which was formerly called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. If the merger is successful, it could further strengthen the global efforts to quickly produce a vaccine for the novel coronavirus and may be made available for mass immunisation. Developed within 3 months, the potential vaccine is developed using a weakened strain of the common cold virus (adenovirus) and combining it with the genetic material of spike protein of the novel coronavirus.

As the number of positive coronavirus cases continues to rise in India at an alarming rate, there is a shining ray of hope in the form of various experimental drugs which are used to treat the coronavirus patients. The Indian drug manufacturer has received a nod from the drug regulator to conduct phase 3 trials for the usage of Ulinastatin to potentially treat coronavirus patients suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. Ulinastatin is an intrinsic trypsin inhibitor which has been traditionally used for the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis.