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Researchers at the Imperial College of London on Monday began human trials for its new coronavirus vaccine.
The cost of developing Imperial’s vaccine candidate has been covered through government funding and philanthropic donations. The UK government has provided £41 million in funding for the vaccine while philanthropic donations account for £5m.
“It will be the first test of a new self-amplifying RNA technology, which has the potential to revolutionise vaccine development and enable scientists to respond more quickly to emerging diseases,” Imperial said in a press statement.
The vaccine is based on RNA technology, it provides genetic instructions to form the “spike” protein on the surface of the coronavirus. This protein helps in generating an immune response thus preventing infection. The vaccine candidate has shown efficacy in animal studies.
The study will provide two doses of the vaccine to 300 healthy volunteers over the coming weeks.
“In the long-term, a viable vaccine could be vital for protecting the most vulnerable, enabling restrictions to be eased and helping people to get back to normal life,” said Professor Robin Shattock Principal Investigator, Covid-19 vaccine trial.
If the vaccine proves to be safe and effective in this study and shows a promising immune response in humans, the researchers will then begin the larger Phase III trials later in the year with around 6,000 healthy volunteers.
The researchers had previously decided to set up a special company to provide better access to poor countries as well for their vaccine if approved. The Imperial College and Hong Kong-based Morningside Ventures have set up a social enterprise, called VacEquity Global Health (VGH), Indian Express had reported.
Apart from Imperial’s coronavirus vaccine candidate, there are over ten candidates currently in human trials.
AstraZeneca recently has inked big deals with countries and organizations for its experimental Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Oxford University. Oxford University recently began an advanced study with 10,000 volunteers, according to an Associated Press report. The US is also planning larger trials in July with 30,000 volunteers testing different vaccine candidates. It has shortlisted five companies to develop a vaccine for Covid-19 as part of its project WarpSpeed, the New York Times had reported. The front runners of vaccine candidates include Oxford University’s vaccine candidate and one made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.
The efficacy of these vaccines is yet to be determined.
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