COVID-19 vaccine is still a challenge to medical experts across the globe since an efficient one is not yet developed or discovered. Different clinical tests are conducted around the world by different countries in the hope of finding an effective vaccine that will completely stop the spreading of the global coronavirus pandemic, which would save people's lives.
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#Novavax Inc, a US based biotech company, said it has started the Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel #coronavirus #vaccine candidate and has enrolled the trial's first participants, with preliminary results slated for July pic.twitter.com/MvTyyPPfuw — Developing China (@DevelopingChina) May 26, 2020
A new coronavirus vaccine is currently in clinical trials as Novavax observes its COVID-19 vaccine's efficiency. According to Forbes's latest report, The new vaccine was created by Novavax, a biotech company that focuses on developing vaccines against different infectious diseases. On Monday, May 25, the company announced that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in Australia is currently being tested in phase 1 clinical trials. Also Read: China's 'Batwoman': Coronavirus 'Just Tip of the Iceberg,' More Pandemics May Arrive "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 Stanley C. Erck, the president, and CEO of Novavax.
Novavax is now starting new coronavirus vaccine's clinical trials, aiming to send COVID-19's spike proteins
Novavax is a Maryland-based company that is one of the biotech companies that are currently developing a vaccine that could be used effectively against SARS-CoV-2, which causes the novel coronavirus pandemic. BioNTech, in partnership with Pfizer, and Moderna have already begun clinical trials for their vaccines.
US based biotechnology company #Novavax trials #Coronavirus vaccine candidate in #Australia. The company will inject 131 volunteers in the first phase of the trial, testing the safety of the #vaccine & looking for signs of its effectiveness, the company's research chief said pic.twitter.com/Bp224Zxr9p — ET NOW (@ETNOWlive) May 26, 2020
However, the two companies are focused on developing a new type of vaccine, mRNA vaccines, that is still unproven. Although there are already mRNA vaccine candidates, none have been approved to be released on the market. The mRNA vaccines make the body produce coronaviruses spike proteins by stimulating it to activate the immune response.
Compared to Moderna and other companies that focus on mRNA vaccines, Novavax is developing a "subunit vaccine" that will send copies of the COVID-19's spike protein from outside the body directly into the body that will activate the response of the immune system. The established vaccine technology is currently used against other types of diseases such as shingles, HPV, and Hepatitis B.
A randomized controlled trial will include 130 healthy people between the ages of 18-59 during the new coronavirus vaccine test. Placebo will be received by some of the participating individuals, while others will receive the vaccine candidate for Novavax. Two different dosages of the subunit vaccine will be tested during the clinical trial, including test doses with and without a vaccine adjuvant, a compound that will boost the vaccine's capability to stimulate an immune response. The company stated that it will immediately move into the next phase of the clinical trials at sites across the globe once the tests provide positive results.
