Coronavirus vaccine status: Sinovac 99 % sure COVID-19 vaccine will work; latest developments in Moderna's vaccine, here is everything you need to know

Countries across the globe are desperately scrambling for a cure for novel coronavirus in the midst of a lot of uncertainty revolving around the contagion. As scientists and medical experts continue to work at breakneck speed to develop a vaccine, the latest reports state that there are more than 100 potential vaccines in different stages of development to combat the novel coronavirus.

The race for the production of COVID-19 is witnessing new entrants regularly including the tobacco-based vaccine being developed by Britain’s largest cigarette manufacturer, British American Tobacco (BAT) and the Patanjali group of India. As trials for a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus are underway in laboratories across the world, here is a look at the major developments of the frontrunners of the coronavirus vaccine candidates:

US-based Modera Inc has already successfully finished its stage 1 of clinal trials and is among the leading candidates in the development of a possible vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The Massachusetts-based biotech company is developing an RNA-based vaccine and is all set to begin phase 2 of its clinical trials for the same on 600 healthy individuals. The mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1273) has already shown promising results in developing protective antibodies against the virus.

A smallscale trial of Moderna’s RNA-based vaccine was conducted in the month of March, where 8 individuals of the 45 who were given the trial vaccine developed protective antibodies.

All the 45 participants were given 25-250 mcg dosage of the vaccine, while the eight individuals who developed protective antibodies were injected with 25 and 100 mcg dose of the vaccine.

While initially, only minor side-effects were observed in the individuals including chills, local pain, soreness and redness at the site of injection, a volunteer has reported a severe reaction to Moderna vaccine. As per a report in a leading media outlet, a 29-year-old volunteer experienced adverse side-effects to the potential vaccine including a 103 degrees fever, nausea and aching muscles. However, he also maintained that even though he was sick, the side-effects were never “life-threatening”. It is important to note that the vaccine volunteer was given the highest dose of the candidate vaccine.

In the latest developments, one of the front runners in the race of producing vaccine fit for human use, Chinese drug-maker has reportedly said that it is 99 per cent confident that their vaccine for COVID-19 will work. Its vaccine CoronaVac proved effective in preventing infection from developing in monkeys in its clinical trials.

Ramdev’s Patanjali group has also joined the global efforts of developing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The group is known for its ayurvedic based supplements and products and is all set to conduct clinical trials after securing permission from regulatory authorities. The clinical trials will begin in Indore and Jaipur. As per Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali, the company is focussing on developing a cure for the vaccine and not an immunity booster.

The Chinese vaccine maker is being touted as one of the strongest contenders in developing a cure for novel coronavirus. CanSino is currently working on developing a vaccine namely Adenovirus Type 5 Vector by genetically modifying a common cold carrying virus which modifies the structure of the protein once it enters the human cells.

The Ad5-nCoV vaccine candidate has already moved into clinical trials in the month of April where 108 participants aged between 18-60 were injected with the vaccine candidate. According to the report published in the medical journal, Lancet showed that the vaccine being developed by CanSino Biologics Inc could help the body’s immunity by producing T cells and was generally safe to use.

The vaccine candidate being developed by Oxford University is based on a weakened strained of adenovirus which causes common cold in chimpanzees and is combined with the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. While the ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ vaccine candidate is being touted as one of the most promising potential vaccines, recent reports have noted that it is only partially effective in preventing the infection in six rhesus macaque monkeys. The good news is that the vaccine was able able to stop viral pneumonia from developing but could not prevent the monkeys from catching the infection.

The first phase of clinical trials of the vaccine has already been conducted in April on more than 1,000 candidates and the next phase will involve injecting both ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or another control group licensed vaccine namely MenACWY to understand the efficacy and safety of the vaccine candidate.

The vaccine candidate of the US-based drugmaker has already begun stage I/II trial of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate in Australia. The human trials will be conducted on 130 volunteers from Australia of Novavax’s vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373. The potential vaccine candidate is being developed by genetic engineering. It used the genetic sequence of the SARS-COV-2 virus which showed a great promise on baboons and mice.

Moreover, the US-drugmaker has bought a manufacturing plant from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccine by volume. The biotechnology firm aims to produce a billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate next year.

INOVIO Pharmaceuticals has already conducted phase 1 of its clinical trials to test the efficacy and safety of its vaccine candidate INO-4800 vaccine. The results of the same are expected to be out by the end of June for which 40 healthy participants were given two doses of its vaccine candidate,four weeks apart. After the preliminary data are out, INOVIO will seek the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to go ahead with the Phase 2/3 trial.

America-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer has tied up with German company, BNTECH to develop a vaccine to combat the novel coronavirus. The vaccine candidate is named 'BNT162' and they have already started the process of dosing the patients after receiving the necessary clinical approvals. Four RNA-based vaccines candidates are being tested on participants to figure out the most effective and safe potential vaccine.

To develop a vaccine to fight the novel coronavirus French drugmaker Sanofi has partnered with UK rival GlaxoSmithKline Plc. The vaccine candidate is based on an existing technology that was used for influenza and is all set to enter clinical trials in the second half of 2020. GSK will focus on the development of adjuvant ingredient of the vaccine while Sanofi will focus on producing antigen which will target the spike protein of the novel coronavirus.

In India, more than 30 vaccine candidates are in various stages of development to fight the novel coronavirus. According to Principal Scientific Adviser K VijayRaghavan, “About 30 groups in India, big industry to individual academics are trying to develop vaccines to fight Covid-19 of which 20 are keeping a good pace.”

Additionally, Mynvax which is an Indian medical pharmaceutical startup is focussing on developing a vaccine to prevent the novel coronavirus which involves using a protein-based vaccine. The company is expecting to roll out the vaccine in 18 months.

Indian vaccine maker Bharat Biotech has tied up with Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The vaccine has been invented at the Thomas Jefferson University by using an existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus proteins.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has also joined the race to develop a potential vaccine for coronavirus. The Indian drugmaker has received all the mandatory approval from Indian regulatory to start clinical trials of a pancreatitis drug, Nafamostat on COVID-19 patient. The medicine has been identified as a potential cure for coronavirus by scientists at the University of Tokyo and Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Germany. Currently, three trials are underway across the globe to test Nafamostat on coronavirus patient and the initial result is quite promising.