11/03/2020 4:57 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 11/03/2020 17:00
Eleven vaccines against coronavirus are in trial phase 3, the most advanced, which involves their administration to thousands of volunteers.
And there are
six that already have early approvals
(granted before completing the usual testing stages) for their limited application outside of research settings.
This stems from a compilation of data by
The New York Times
.
Here, a summary of the situation of all these vaccines, based on data from the American newspaper.
The six vaccines that have already got some approval are from Russia and China.
Of these, five are in phase 3 and one will begin that phase at the end of the year.
APPROVED VACCINES
CanSino Biologics
The Chinese company CanSino Biologics is working on a vaccine based on an adenovirus called Ad5.
It does so in association with the Institute of Biology of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of that country.
In July, they reported that their phase 2 trials showed that the vaccine produced a strong immune response.
Then, in an unprecedented move, on June 25, the Chinese military
approved the vaccine for one year
, under the category of "especially necessary drug."
Sputnik V
The Gamaleya Research Institute, which is part of the Russian Ministry of Health, began clinical trials in June of a vaccine they called Gam-Covid-Vac.
On August 11, President Vladimir Putin announced approval of the vaccine, renamed Sputnik V, even before phase 3 trials began. The measure was criticized for its risks.
Russia adjusted the measure and noted that the approval was a
"conditional registration certificate"
that would depend on the results of the phase 3 trials. Those trials, initially planned for just 2,000 volunteers, were expanded to 40,000.
On September 4, the Gamaleya researchers published results from an intermediate phase between 1 and 2: They found that Sputnik V
produced antibodies
against the coronavirus and
mild side effects
.
Meanwhile, Russia was negotiating agreements to supply the vaccine to different countries such as Brazil, Mexico and India.
Argentina has now joined that list.
Sinopharm (Wuhan)
A vaccine based on the inactivated virus was developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products (China), and the Chinese state-owned company Sinopharm subjected it to clinical trials.
Phase 3 trials were launched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in July, and in Peru and Morocco the following month.
Sinopharm later reported that it had received government approval to inject its two experimental vaccines into
hundreds of thousands of people
.
On September 14, the UAE emergency approved the two Sinopharm vaccines for use in healthcare workers.
Sinopharm (Beijing)
Sinopharm also began testing an inactivated virus vaccine, developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products.
Phase 3 trials of this vaccine are being conducted in the United Arab Emirates and Argentina.
Like the developed Wuhan Biological Products Institute, this Sinopharm vaccine was approved for delivery to hundreds of thousands of people in China and healthcare workers in the UAE.
In October, the Sinopharm president said the company is preparing to produce
1 billion doses a year
of its two vaccines.
Sinovac Biotech
In July, the private Chinese company Sinovac Biotech launched a phase 3 trial of an inactivated vaccine called CoronaVac in Brazil, followed by others in Indonesia and Turkey.
While the company has not yet released data from the late-stage trials, on October 19, Brazilian officials said that vaccine was
the safest
of the five they were testing in phase 3.
Reuters reported in turn that the Chinese government had given CoronaVac an
emergency approval for limited use
in July.
In October, authorities in the city of Jiaxing, in eastern China, reported that they were giving CoronaVac to people in jobs with a relatively high risk of contagion, including health workers, port inspectors and public service personnel.
An employee of the German biopharmaceutical company CureVac shows his work.
Photo Reuters / Archive.
In September, Yin Weidong, CEO of Sinovac, said the company planned to distribute the vaccine globally
in early 2021
.
EpiVacCorona
On October 14, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia had granted approval to the EpiVacCorona.
Like Sputnik V, this vaccine received approval before a phase 3 trial. Those trials are
expected to begin by the end of the year
.
This development belongs to the Vector Institute, a Russian biological research center.
The vaccine contains small portions of viral proteins, known as peptides.
VACCINES IN PHASE 3
Modern
The Moderna laboratory develops vaccines against the coronavirus in association with the National Institutes of Health of the United States and with support from the Government of that country.
In March, the company began human trials with promising results.
And since July 27, the vaccine is in phase 3 of trials.
In October, the company announced that it had finished recruiting all 30,000 study participants, including 7,000 65 and older.
If your results meet the requirements of the
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), Moderna could apply for an
emergency use authorization by the end of 2020
.
BioNTech, Pfizer
The German company BioNTech, along with Pfizer, based in New York, and the Chinese drug manufacturer Fosun Pharma are developing a vaccine that will
be administered in two doses
.
On July 27, the companies announced the launch of a phase 2/3 trial with 30,000 volunteers in the US and other countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Germany.
On September 12, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they would seek to expand their trial in the US to 43,000 participants.
In September, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said the phase 3 trial would yield enough results in October to show whether the vaccine was working or not.
Then, Donald Trump, hinted that a vaccine would be available before the election.
What did not happen.
If its vaccine is licensed, Pfizer and BioNTech expect to manufacture more than
1.3 billion doses of its vaccine worldwide by the end of 2021
.
A vial labeled with the legend "Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine."
Photo Reuters.
Johnson & Johnson
A decade ago, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston developed a method for making vaccines from a virus called Adenovirus 26 or Ad26.
Johnson & Johnson developed vaccines for Ebola and other diseases with Ad26 and has now created one for the coronavirus.
Johnson & Johnson launched phase 3 trials, with up to
60,000 participants
, in September.
This vaccine would only require one dose.
On October 12, Johnson & Johnson announced that it had put its trial on hold to investigate an adverse reaction in a volunteer.
The tests were resumed eleven days later.
Despite this delay, the company expects to have
results by the end of 2020
.
AstraZeneca and University of Oxford
The British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford develop a vaccine based on a chimpanzee adenovirus called ChAdOx1, which began phase 2/3 trials in England and India (where it is known as Covishield).
In addition, AstraZeneca launched phase 3 trials in Brazil, South Africa and the United States.
On September 6, AstraZeneca halted vaccine trials to investigate a volunteer who developed a form of inflammation called transverse myelitis.
Within a week, the trials began again in all countries
except the US
, where they only resumed on October 23.
Part of the manufacture of this vaccine
is carried out in Argentina
.
Novavax
Novavax, based in Maryland, USA, launched trials for a COVID-19 vaccine in May.
After achieving promising results from preliminary studies in monkeys and humans, Novavax launched a phase 2 trial in South Africa in August.
In September, the firm launched a phase 3 trial in which it enrolled up to 15,000 volunteers in the UK and which could deliver results as
early as 2021
.
Novavax is preparing a larger phase 3 trial, which will launch in the United States in late November.
The company that could make up to 2 billion doses a year.
A woman holds a small bottle labeled "COVID-19 Vaccine" and a medical syringe.
Photo reuters.
Covaxin
In collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology of India, the Indian company Bharat Biotech designed a vaccine called Covaxin, based on an inactivated form of the coronavirus.
On October 23, the company announced that it was starting phase 3 trials. It plans for the vaccine to
be ready in early 2021
.
Bacillus Calmette-Guerin
The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine was developed in the early 20th century to protect against tuberculosis.
The Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia is conducting a phase 3 trial to see if the vaccine partly protects against coronavirus.
LGP
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