As the coronavirus disease continues to wreak havoc across the world, pharmaceutical companies are racing against time to develop a vaccine. AstraZeneca, one of the frontrunners in this endeavour, received a setback when the trial of its vaccine candidate was paused.
The trials have now been resumed and the world is waiting with baited breath to how the vaccines will be delivered to them.
Meanwhile, in China vaccine trials, experts are trying to develop a nasal spray where the volunteers will not receive painful injection.
Here are the latest development in Covid-19 vaccine trials:
*Pharma giant AstraZeneca resumed British clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine after getting the green light from the country’s safety watchdogs. An independent committee was drafted in to review safety, in what the company and the World Health Organisation (WHO) described as a routine step.
*In India, Serum Institute of India (SII) said it will resume the trials in the country once the drug regulator, Drugs Controller General of India, gives it requisite permission.
*Iran on Saturday said that it will soon begin human trials for anti-coronavirus vaccine after the stage of animal trials has passed. “We hope these activities will bear the desired result in order to provide better preventive services for the people,” news agency ANI cited Jalil Koohpayehzadeh, dean of Iran University of Medical Sciences and a member of Tehran anti-coronavirus committee, as saying.
{{/usCountry}}*Iran on Saturday said that it will soon begin human trials for anti-coronavirus vaccine after the stage of animal trials has passed. “We hope these activities will bear the desired result in order to provide better preventive services for the people,” news agency ANI cited Jalil Koohpayehzadeh, dean of Iran University of Medical Sciences and a member of Tehran anti-coronavirus committee, as saying.
{{/usCountry}}*Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE proposed to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand their Phase 3 pivotal Covid-19 vaccine trial to about 44,000 participants. The proposed expansion would allow the companies to enroll people as young as 16 and people with chronic, stable HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B, as per the statement.
*In first so far, China began testing a nasal spray vaccine for the coronavirus as against to the injection currently in development by other pharmaceutical companies. It approved Phase 1 human testing for the nasal spray vaccine this week. It is being co-developed by researchers at Xiamen University and Hong Kong University, as well as by vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co.
*The governor of Brazil’s Sao Paulo state said on Wednesday that Phase 3 clinical trials of a potential Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd have shown promising results and it may be available to Brazilians as early as December.
(With inputs from agencies)