Coronavirus vaccine tracker: When will one be ready?
The global effort to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 continues as over 24 million people have been infected worldwide. Even though the vaccine development process is moving at record speed, it will at least be months until a safe and effective vaccine hits the market. Meanwhile, let us review the progress of some of the frontrunners.
The vaccine developed by Oxford University in collaboration with the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca is undergoing phase 2 trials in India and phase 3 trials in other parts of the world. The vaccine candidate—called AZD1222 (formerly ChAdOx1 nCoV-19)—is being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India in India. It is expected to be ready by December 2020 with an estimated price of $4 (Rs. 295).
United States biotechnology company Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine is also undergoing the third phase of clinical trials. The phase 3 trials are expected to be complete by September-end with the vaccine potentially hitting the market by the end of this year. Moderna has said that its vaccine will likely be priced at $32-37 (Rs. 2,300-2,700).
Chinese firm Sinopharm is hoping to roll out its coronavirus vaccine candidate by the end of 2020 as well. Currently, the vaccine candidate is undergoing phase 3 trials. The potential vaccine is expected to be priced at $140 (Rs. 10,300).
CanSino Biologics Inc. is also developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine, called Ad5-nCOV, in association with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. Phase 3 trials are expected to start in September and the potential vaccine is expected to be launched by the end of the year. However, the firm has made no revelation about the price of the vaccine.
Separately, Russia has claimed to have launched the first COVID-19 vaccine called Sputnik V on August 11. The vaccine candidate is being developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute and the Russian Defence Ministry. However, the vaccine is yet to undergo phase 3 trials. The vaccine is expected to be out by September-end. No announcement regarding the price has been made.
