US begins 1st human trial of coronavirus vaccine

The first human trial to evaluate a candidate vaccine against the new coronavirus has begun in Seattle, US health officials said Monday, raising hopes in the global fight against the disease.

But it may be another year to 18 months before it becomes available, once it has passed more trial phases to prove it works and is safe.

The vaccine is called mRNA-1273 and was developed by US National Institutes of Health scientists and collaborators at  biotechnology company Moderna, which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

‘The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks,’ the NIH said. ‘The first participant received the investigational vaccine today.’

Funding was also provided by the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

There are currently no approved vaccines or treatments against the coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, which has infected more than 175,000 people across the world since it was first identified in central China in late December.

‘Finding a safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2 is an urgent public health priority,’ said Anthony Fauci, head of infectious diseases at the NIH, using the technical name for the virus that is believed to have originated in bats.

‘This Phase 1 study, launched in record speed, is an important first step toward achieving that goal.’

The Seattle trial will study the impact of different doses delivered by intramuscular injection in the upper arm, with participants monitored for side-effects like soreness or fever.

Coronaviruses are spherical and have spikes protruding from their surface, giving them a crown-like appearance. The spike binds to human cells, allowing the virus to gain entry.

The Moderna candidate vaccine carries the genetic information of this spike in a substance called ‘messenger RNA.’

Injecting human tissue with the spike’s messenger RNA makes it grow inside the body, thereby eliciting an immune response without having actually infected a person with the full-blown virus.

Meanwhile, a German biotech firm on Monday flatly denied newspaper reports that US president Donald Trump had offered to pay for exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine.

Citing sources close to the German government, Die Welt newspaper had reported that Trump had offered ‘a billion dollars’ to secure research into a vaccine by CureVac ‘only for the United States’.

The report sparked a furious response in Berlin — and a swift denial from the company.

‘CureVac has not received from the US government or related entities an offer before, during and since the Task Force meeting in the White House on March 2,’ the company tweeted.

‘CureVac rejects all allegations from press.’

German chancellor Angela Merkel later weighed in, telling reporters the ‘subject is now resolved’, without elaborating.

Scientists are scrambling to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus, which first emerged in China in December but has since ballooned across Asia, Europe and North America.

harmaceuticals and research labs around the world are racing to develop both treatments and vaccines to the new coronavirus.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net