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The mysterious coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city Wuhan, now termed as COVID-19, and its fast spread to many other countries, endangers thousands of lives. The pandemic has catalysed the development of novel coronavirus vaccines across the biotech industry, both by pharmaceutical companies and research organisations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US.
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The first COVID-19 vaccine in China is expected to be ready for clinical trials by the end of April, according to Xu Nanping, China’s vice-minister of science and technology. Inovio Pharmaceuticals plans to begin clinical trials on a coronavirus vaccine in April this year.
Health officials from WHO have noted that Gilead’s remdesivir has demonstrated efficacy in treating the coronavirus infection.
Chloroquine approved for emergency use by US FDA
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved limited emergency use for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, had announced on 19 March that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine/Plaquenil, used to treat malaria and arthritis, were approved by the FDA to be tested as a treatment for COVID-19.
Chloroquine is being tested in various clinical trials conducted by government agencies and academic institutions. Other antivirals drugs are also planned to be fast-tracked for testing for coronavirus.
Favilavir, the first approved coronavirus drug in China
The National Medical Products Administration of China has approved the use of Favilavir, an anti-viral drug, as a treatment for coronavirus. The drug has reportedly shown efficacy in treating the disease with minimal side effects in a clinical trial involving 70 patients. The clinical trial is being conducted in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Pharmaceutical companies involved in developing coronavirus drugs/vaccines
Here is a list of the major coronavirus drugs that pharmaceutical companies across the world are developing that have the potential to become major coronavirus vaccines or antivirals for treating the contagious coronavirus infection.
Novel coronavirus vaccines
Listed below are the coronavirus vaccines in various stages of development, across the world.
Fusogenix DNA vaccine by Entos Pharmaceuticals
Entos Pharmaceuticals is developing Fusogenix DNA vaccine developed using the Fusogenix drug delivery platform to prevent COVID-19 infections. Fusogenix drug delivery platform is a proteo-lipid vehicle that introduces genetic payload directly into the cells.
Entos is working on developing an optimised payload containing multiple protein epitopes derived from SARS-COV-2 proteins, which will stimulate an immune response in the body to prevent COVID-19 infection.
ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 by University of Oxford
The University of Oxford’s ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is an adenovirus vaccine vector developed by the university’s Jenner Institute. The university is testing the vaccine in a clinical trial planned to be conducted in the Thames Valley Region.
Approximately 510 volunteers aged between 18 years and 55 years will be enrolled for the study.
Gimsilumab by Roivant Sciences
Roivant Sciences is advancing the development of Gimsilumab a clinical-stage, human monoclonal antibody. The drug targets granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which is a pro-inflammatory cytokine found in high levels in the serum of COVID-19 patients.
Targeting GM-CSF is expected to reduce lung damage and reduce mortality rate in COVID-19 patients.
AdCOVID by Altimmune
Altimmune has collaborated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to develop a single dose intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 named AdCOVID. The company is currently carrying out immunogenicity studies after, which phase one clinical trial material will be developed.
Altimmune and UAB will work with researchers to conduct preclinical animal studies and phase one clinical trial in the third quarter of 2020.
TJM2 by I-Mab Biopharma
I-Mab Biopharma is developed TJM2, a neutralising antibody, as a treatment for cytokine storm in patients suffering from a severe case of coronavirus infection. The drug targets the human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which is responsible for acute and chronic inflammation.
The company will commence development after receiving approval for the Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Coronavirus vaccine by Medicago
Medicago is developing drug candidates against COVID-19 after having produced Virus-Like Particles (VLP) of the coronavirus. The company has formed a collaboration with Laval University’s Infectious Disease Research Centre to develop antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
The company’s research activities are being partly funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR).
AT-100 by Airway Therapeutics
Airway Therapeutics is exploring its novel human recombinant protein named AT-100 (rhSP-D) as a treatment for coronavirus. The company has announced a filing with the Respiratory Diseases Branch of the National Institutes of Health to evaluate the drug.
AT-100 has shown efficacy in preclinical studies in reducing inflammation and infection in the lungs, while also generating an immune response against various respiratory diseases.
TZLS-501 by Tiziana Life Sciences
Tiziana Life Sciences is developing its monoclonal antibody named TZLS-501 for the treatment of COVID-19. TZLS-501 is a human anti-interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R), which helps in preventing lung damage and elevated levels of IL-6.
The drug works by binding to IL-6R and depleting the amount of IL-6 circulating in the body thereby reducing chronic lung inflammation.
OYA1 by OyaGen
OyaGen’s OYA1 has shown strong antiviral efficacy against coronavirus in laboratory essays. It was found to be more effective than chlorpromazine HCl in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 from replicating in cell culture.
OYA1 was earlier approved as an investigational new drug for treating cancer but abandoned due to lack of efficacy. OyaGen plans to conduct further research on the drug to determine the efficacy in treating coronavirus.
BPI-002 by BeyondSpring
BeyondSpring’s BPI-002 is a small molecule agent indicated for treating various infections including COVID-19. It has the ability to activate CD4+ helper T cells and CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and generating an immune response in the body.
If combined with another COVID-19 vaccine, the drug has the ability to generate long-term protection against viral infections. BeyondSpring has filed US patent protection for the drug for treating viral infections.
Altimmune’s intranasal coronavirus vaccine
An intranasal Covid-19 vaccine is being developed by US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, Altimmune.
Design and synthesis of the single-dose vaccine have been completed, while animal testing will follow.
The coronavirus vaccine is being developed based on a vaccine technology platform that is similar to NasoVAX, an influenza vaccine developed by Altimmune.
INO-4800 by Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology
Inovio Pharmaceuticals has collaborated with Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology Company to advance the development of the former’s vaccine, INO-4800, as a novel coronavirus vaccine. The company has started pre-clinical testing for clinical product manufacturing.
The vaccine development is supported by a $9m grant from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
Inovio announced an accelerated timeline for the development of the vaccine on 03 March. Preclinical trials are ongoing and the design for human clinical trials have been completed. The company has also prepared 3,000 doses for human clinical trials planned to be conducted across the US, China, and South Korea. Plans for large-scale manufacturing have also been developed.
Human clinical trials in 30 healthy volunteers are expected to commence in April 2020 in the US, followed by China, and South Korea. A phase one clinical trial is planned to be conducted in parallel in China, by Beijing Advaccine. Results from the clinical trials are expected to be available in September 2020.
Inovio aims to produce one million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2020 to perform additional clinical trials or emergency use.
NP-120 (Ifenprodil) by Algernon Pharmaceuticals
Algernon Pharmaceuticals has announced that it is exploring its NP-120 (Ifenprodil) as a potential treatment COVID-19. Ifenprodil is an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NDMA) receptor glutamate receptor antagonist sold under the brand name Cerocal. It has demonstrated efficacy in improving survivability in mice infected with H5N1.
APN01 by University of British Columbia and APEIRON Biologics
A drug candidate developed by APEIRON Biologics named APN01 is being tested in China in a phase one pilot trial as a treatment for COVID-19. APN01 is based on research conducted by a professor at the University of British Columbia for treating SARS. The research revealed that the ACE2 protein was the main receptor for the SARS virus.
The clinical trial will test the drug’s efficacy in reducing the viral load in patients. Data from the trial will be used to determine if additional clinical trials are required to be conducted in larger number of patients.
What are the symptoms?
Coronavirus symptoms include those associated with common cold, such as running nose, headache, cough, fever, and sore throat.
Coronavirus transmission
“Coronavirus transmission can happen human-to-human as well as from infected animals such as dogs and cats.“
COVID-19 is a betacoronavirus that has origin in bats, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Believed to have transmitted from animals and reptiles such as snakes, coronaviruses cause respiratory issues such as upper respiratory tract illnesses and lower respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
Coronavirus transmission can happen human-to-human as well as from infected animals such as dogs and cats.
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