The four front runners of the race for Covid vaccine

The World Health Organization has released an updated list of vaccines under development for Covid-19, with the number of candidates under clinical evaluation stage rising to 16 from just five a month ago. Though the number has gone up, the vaccines are in various stages of trial. ET takes a look at four vaccine candidates, where the results of the current stages of trials are expected to be out in July:

Candidate ChAdOx1-S: Number of Participants- 2000
This vaccine, developed by drug maker AstraZeneca and University of Oxford, started human trials in South Africa and Brazil this week. This vaccine, apparently the most advanced in the clinical development stage, has entered phase 3 of human trials. The results of these trials are expected to be out by the end of July.

LNPencapsulated mRNA: Number of Participants- 600
The candidate by US drugmaker Moderna is another closely watched vaccine for Covid-19. The trial is in phase 2 and Moderna this week tied up with Catalent Inc, which specialises in vial fi lling and packaging for vaccines, for production of an initial 100 million doses for supply in the US market starting the third quarter of 2020. Moderna’s phase 3 study with 30 thousand participants will start in July.

Candidate Adenovirus Type 5 Vector: Number of Participants- 500
The joint development by Beijing Institute of Technology and biotech fi rm CanSino is in phase 2 of human trials. The trial is underway in China and Canada where 125 subjects received the vaccine dose in the fi rst phase. The preliminary studies showed that the cohort who received the vaccine developed antibodies against the SARS-Cov2 virus. However, what the studies are trying to fi nd out is whether these antibodies are neutralising the antibodies that help the immune system prevent infection. The results are expected in a month’s time.

Inactivated vaccine by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products/ Sinopharm and Sinovac: Number of Participants- 422
The Chinese vaccine makers, experts say, might beat AstraZeneca and Oxford in introducing the fi rst Covid-19 vaccine. Sinopharm and Sinovac are expected to release the data from their preliminary study involving 400 patients next month. These companies have taken their vaccine candidate for trial beyond China. Sinopharma will be recruiting patients in UAE, while SinoVac has tied up with a Brazilian research organisation to expand its trial.