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Presently, the priority for major pharmaceutical companies is to discover a vaccine for the coronavirus (Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2). Dr. Kuntal Ghosh, Consultant, Palliative Care Unit, Saroj Gupta Cancer Research Centre and Research Institute (SGCCRI), West Bengal, informed BE, “Different countries and reputed national institutes in collaboration with large multinational pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Some have started human trials, while others are in the pre-clinical trial phase.”

According to Informa Pharma Intelligence, more than 140 experimental drug treatments and vaccines are in development worldwide. Of these, 11 are already in clinical trials with more trials planned ahead. In the midst of lockdowns and industrial shutdowns, the academic community and healthcare researchers are engaged in meeting the rising demand for vaccines, medications, diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment, and other epidemic-fighting requirements. In fact, researchers have squeezed timelines of years into months and weeks.

Finding a solution

Bennett University recently organised a webinar with leading medical experts who are currently engaged in finding a solution to the global pandemic. They pointed out that studying the structure of the coronavirus will help in the discovery of a vaccine. Robert Stroud, Professor, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California in San Francisco said, “It's important to know and understand the structure of Covid-19 and the protein spikes that attach to the host cell receptors.”

Thomas Tomasiak, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at University of Arizona, stated that the production of antibody is difficult in case of Covid-19 as his ongoing research has not yet ascertained whether preventive vaccines will be better against drugs used to treat the infection. For the time being, he suggested that repurposed drugs provide the best short-term solution till a vaccine is available.

Dr. Ghosh pointed out that for any medicine or vaccine, several phases of trials are necessary. He further stated, “After analysing results of each steps, one has to exclude biases and has to experiment with reasonably good sample sizes. Safety, efficacy, potency of all factors should be clearly taken into account in each step.”

However, according to medical practitioners and researchers, the possibility of mass production of vaccines is remote as presently the vaccine development is in the primary trial stage. Dr. Ghosh said, “We can expect it to take around eight months to one year. Also, considering the track record of mutation, it is very difficult to assess at this stage.”

A cause for concern

Despite ongoing researches, an alarming claim has been raised by certain experts who questioned what if the vaccine for coronavirus is never discovered. They pointed out that in case of HIV and dengue, there are no vaccines even after years of research. In a CNN report, Dr. David Nabarro, the World Health Organisation’s Covid-19 special envoy, said, “There are some viruses that we still do not have vaccines against. We can’t make an absolute assumption that a vaccine will appear at all, or if it does, whether it will pass all the tests of efficacy and safety.”

The possibility that the Covid-19 disease can be there for many years in the future should not be altogether rejected. In such a scenario, lockdowns cannot be an economically sustainable alternative. Addressing such an issue, the CNN report stated, “It means the culture of shrugging off a cough or light cold symptoms and trudging into work should be over. Experts also predict a permanent change in attitudes towards remote working.”

Significant breakthroughs

According to a report published in an English daily, at present, researchers have identified a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 from the Oxford Vaccine Group and Oxford's Jenner Institute. The potential upcoming vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is based on an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. According to WHO sources, out of 102 vaccines in the race, eight leading vaccines are in the human testing phase. The recombinant viral vector vaccine, ChAdOx1 is different from the others because of the time it has promised to take in order to deliver mass quantities.

Recently, Israeli Defence Minister, Naftali Bennett, stated that Israeli scientists have made a ‘significant breakthrough’ in the development of an antibody against Covid-19 by isolating a key Covid-19 antibody. In a statement, Bennett said that the ‘monoclonal neutralising antibody’ developed at the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) can neutralise the disease-causing coronavirus inside a carrier's body. In his statement, Bennett also informed that the institute was in the process of patenting the discovery. In the next stage, in order to produce the antibody on a commercial scale, the researchers will approach international companies.

According to media sources, a group of Dutch scientists have also developed a monoclonal antibody, a lab-created protein which is similar to the one that occurs naturally to fight the infection in human bodies to fight the coronavirus infection. Scientists from Utrecht University in Netherlands stated that though the research is in an early stage, there is a possibility that this antibody might help in the development of medicines against coronavirus.

A report on Arab News, quoting Italian news agency ANSA, stated that a team of Italian scientists from the company Takis was able to separate antibodies in mice that blocked the virus from infecting human cells. The vaccine candidates currently being developed are based on the genetic material of DNA protein ‘spike’. According to the report, “Researchers believe that this makes their vaccine particularly effective for generating functional antibodies against the ‘spike’ protein, in particular in the lung cells, which are the most vulnerable to coronavirus.”

Scientists all around the globe are exerting tireless efforts to combat the Covid-19. One can be hopeful that a remedy will be discovered sooner or later.