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COVID-19 Vaccines - Big Pharma and Biotech Race to make Vaccines available by the end of 2020

Summary

The demand for a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus continues to grow, as the global pandemic continues to impact the lives of billions of people worldwide. The number of deaths globally caused by the virus exceeds 600,000, while economies continue to struggle with the economic turmoil caused by travel restrictions, business closures, and social lockdowns as consequences of the pandemic. Recession is imminent for the global economy. However, some hope has emerged as a handful of research institutions and pharmaceutical corporations and regulatory authorities accelerate their efforts into providing a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. Tracking the progression of these potential vaccines is important, giving a rough indication of when lockdowns can be lifted more safely and social distancing can be relaxed, allowing business to operate as usual without fear for public health.

Key Highlights
- AstraZeneca has formed an alliance with the University of Oxford to assist in the development, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of a potential COVID-19 Vaccination. The company plan on supplying 2 billion doses through 2020 and 2021 and has established a strong manufacturing and distribution network in collaboration with a number of global organizations to help the company deliver its targets effectively. In terms of vaccine development, the University of Oxford candidate is one of the most advanced having reported strong efficacy and safety results from its ongoing UK based Phase I/II clinical trial results on July 20. The group now focus on Phase III trials in Brazil and South Africa to prove the vaccine is able to cause immunity across large populations safely and effectively. If successful AstraZeneca will be the world’s primary supplier of COVID-19 vaccines
- Chinese vaccine manufacturer, Sinovac is also close to gaining regulatory approval of its own COVID-19 vaccine. The company has also initiated Phase III clinical trials in Brazil having reported positive outcomes from previous clinical trials completed on a small population of 743 healthy volunteers, aged from 18 to 59 years’. Although the company is optimistic about its ability to produce a valid COVID-19 vaccine, there are concerns over the group’s production and distribution capabilities. If its candidate vaccine is approved, the company will struggle to meet global vaccine demands. Government support will help Sinovac increase its manufacturing capabilities, but output will remain well below AstraZeneca estimates of production.
- The BCG vaccine, traditionally used to prevent tuberculosis, is the only other vaccine undergoing phase III clinical trials for COVID-19 in July 2020. However, trials will only test for the vaccines ability to produce a non-specific immune response and if this will help weaken the severity of the virus. The research could benefit key workers, who are at higher risk of infection, by increasing their tolerability until a specific vaccine becomes available. Vaccines at a less advanced stages of development offer an alternative to the vaccines currently undergoing Phase III testing. If phase III trials don’t demonstrate the vaccine is efficient and safe enough to use globally, vaccines being developed by the likes of BioNTech, Valneva, Moderno, CanSino and the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products will become the most promising candidates.

Scope

- Examine the race to achieve a new vaccine
- See who are the leaders and what possible companies and groups are managing them
- Examine the plans for production and compare approaches

Reasons to Buy

- What vaccine groups are ahead in the race to produce a vaccine?
- How many are likely to achieve their goal?
- Who has the biggest production plans?
- What different approaches are being taken?