The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe has wreaked havoc on the global economy. The outbreak of one of the worst diseases in history, coronavirus has taken place – affecting 210 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances, over 1,714,014 people and more than 103,772 mortalities till April 11th, 2020. There is no vaccine available until one is developed. Pharmaceutical companies and academic institutes are racing to develop an effective COVID-19 vaccine, with at least 62 efforts currently underway, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Pharmaceutical experts are optimistic that a vaccine will prove successfully within the upcoming three months. Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Abbvie, Inc., the two major pharma giants also assured to launch COVID-19 treatment by the end of May 2020.
These companies have experience in handling such widespread outbreaks. For instance, in 2014, when the Ebola outbreak was spreading in West Africa, the Gilead team worked with the US government to confirm Remdesivir’s preclinical activity against Ebola. Along with it, in late 2014, Gilead entered into collaborations with other institutions to study Remdesivir against coronaviruses, including SARS and MERS. Owing to the decades of research by the Gilead team, the preclinical data to characterize Remdesivir’s activity against the new COVID-19 virus and to determine the potential benefit of further testing was quickly generated. The company’s Remdesivir is under the third phase and is expected to launch soon as treatment options.
The vaccine candidates for COVID-19 were also determined by various other companies such as Sanofi SA, BioNTech and Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Abbvie, Inc., Vaccitech, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ascletis, Takeda, Hoth Therapeutics, Moderna, CansinoBIO, Arcturus, Eli Lilly and Company, GSK, and Inovio. Owing to the successful discovery of lead candidates, these companies have initiated their candidates under clinical trials. One such effective lead candidate was discovered by Johnson and Johnson announced a lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 and pledge to supply one billion vaccines across the globe for emergency pandemic use. The company has collaborated with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to develop and test multiple vaccine candidates using the Janssen AdVac technology. The company is also expanding its manufacturing capabilities across the globe by establishing innovative US vaccine manufacturing facilities and scaling up the vaccine production capacity in other countries.
Rising new COVID-19 cases and casualties across the globe reflect the pressing need for treatment options. Continuous efforts by drug manufacturers for treatment/vaccine development to create opportunities for effective treatment options and to respond to this public health threat with the highest urgency.
