Researchers at U.S.-based Inovio Pharmaceutica and the University of Oxford England have independently developed vaccines now under evaluation in Australia. The World Health Organization has cleared both for animal testing. The national space agency will determine whether these two new coronavirus vaccines testing in Australia are safe for subsequent human trials.
First Comprehensive Trials for New Coronavirus Vaccines Testing
Several other potential Covid-19 vaccines are proceeding at extraordinary speed. However, Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization says their two animal tests are unique. That’s because they are the first comprehensive pre-clinical trials of coronavirus vaccines using animal models.
Extraordinary global cooperation shrunk progress from the traditional one-to-two-years to a couple of months. Ferrets – small furry mammals – have already received the vaccine because they contract the virus similarly to humans. However, the new coronavirus vaccines testing in Australia are functionally different from each other.
Two Different Pathways to a Possible Covid-19 Vaccine Solution
The University of Oxford deploys a defective virus unable to reproduce itself. Their method introduces coronavirus proteins to the ferret’s immune system which should be able to develop countermeasures. The Inovio model on the other hand uses a different approach according to BBC World. That’s because it encodes certain coronavirus proteins to the ferret’s immune system.
This enables the virus cells to replicate themselves, and trigger responses in the animal’s immune system. The scientists hope to complete both tests successfully by June, and then continue with clinical trials. However, assuming the new coronavirus vaccines testing in Australia were to be successful, regulatory timelines may delay getting to market for another eighteen months. Will humanity be patient to wait that long, we wonder. Surely health authorities worldwide need to find ways to fast track the process?
We close with a quote from Mark Suzman, chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “If we want to make the world safe from outbreaks like COVID-19, particularly for those most vulnerable then we need to find a way to make research and development move faster.”
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Preview Image: Male Ferret in the Wild
