Published 07:10 IST, May 26th 2020
COVID-19 Vaccine: US-based biotech firm begins human trial in Australia with 130 people
A Maryland-based biotechnology company Novavax has announced its plans to start enrolling 130 people to test a new experimental vaccine for COVID-19 disease.
While some parts of the world are currently facing the peak of coronavirus pandemic, a US-based biotechnology company has announced its plans to start enrolling 130 people to test a new experimental vaccine.
As per reports, declaring the tenth human trial for a potential vaccine of COVID-19 disease that has infected over 5.4 million people across the globe, Novavax said that the first batch volunteers will be vaccinated on the evening of May 25 in Australia (local time). The trial for coronavirus vaccine is planned to take place in two phases at two sites in the island nation.
The Maryland-based company has named the potential COVID-19 vaccine as ‘NVX-CoV2373’ which is a perfusion protein made with proprietary nanoparticle technology. Novavax has incorporated an additional chemical that would enhance the response of the immune system and even stimulate greater levels of neutralising antibodies. The pre-clinical testing of the potential vaccine has already demonstrated that it would be beneficial for humans as it is "highly immunogenic".
The company in a statement said, “These results provide strong evidence that the vaccine candidate will be highly immunogenic in humans, potentially leading to protection from COVID‑19 and thus helping to control the spread of this disease.”
President and Chief Executive Officer of Novavax, Stanley C Erck, hailed the achievement as “significant” and claimed that the phase one of the trials has brought them closer to handle the “fundamental need” for the COVID-19 vaccine. He also informed that the results acquired by the human trial would be shared in July.
“Administering our vaccine in the first participants of this clinical trial is a significant achievement, bringing us one step closer toward addressing the fundamental need for a vaccine in the fight against the global COVID‑19 pandemic,” said Erck. “We look forward to sharing the clinical results in July and, if promising, quickly initiating the Phase 2 portion of the trial,” he added.
WHO warns of 'immediate second peak' of COVID-19
While health professionals and biotech companies across the world are still struggling to come up with the COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on May 25 that there can be an “immediate second peak” of the disease if the measures are withdrawn ‘too soon’.
WHO emergencies director Dr. Mike Ryan has noted that even though cases of COVID-19 are on the decline in some parts of the world, the infection has surged in Central and South America, South Asia, and Africa. While the world is already in the middle of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan said that the governments shall remain “cognizant” that the fatal disease can spike “any time”.
Image Source: Pixabay/Representative
Updated 07:10 IST, May 26th 2020