The US biotechnology company Novavax said the first phase of clinical trials for the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine against Covid-19 has shown positive signs. Specifically, the vaccine has caused an immune response and produced more antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in recovered Covid-19 patients.
In a press release on August 4, Novavax stated that in the first phase of testing, 131 healthy volunteers aged 18-59 were asked to use a placebo, while the remaining two groups (5 people each) were injected with two doses of the vaccine with doses of 5 and 25 micrograms, respectively, at two different times.
Many countries are in the race to find and develop a Covid-19 vaccine.
After the first dose, all vaccine recipients produced antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Twenty-eight days after the second dose, all volunteers in the two groups of five reported stronger levels of neutralizing antibodies.
Novavax said the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine also caused some side effects such as pain at the injection site, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. Novavax said the 5 microgram dose of the vaccine was nearly as effective as the higher dose and caused fewer side effects.
This trial was conducted in Australia in late May and phase III of the NVX-CoV2373 trial is expected to take place this fall.
If successful, Novavax aims to produce 100 million doses of vaccine by January 2021 and 1-2 billion doses in 2021. Last month, Novavax received $1.6 billion in support from the US government under the "Operation Warp Speed" program to accelerate projects to develop and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine.
In addition to Novavax, other US pharmaceutical companies that have received government support include Moderna and AstraZeneca, both of which are in the final stages of vaccine testing.
There are more and more optimistic signals coming from large corporations around the world in finding a vaccine to prevent Covid-19.
Not only the US, many other countries are also in the race to find and develop a Covid-19 vaccine. On August 4, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Christian Lindmeier said that WHO is very optimistic about the information about the development of Russia's Covid-19 vaccine. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said that Russia's first Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be licensed within 10 days. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that volunteers testing this vaccine have shown an immune response without causing side effects.
Earlier, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that Russia is planning to start mass vaccination in October. The vaccine used in this vaccination campaign was researched and developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.
In addition, another vaccine developed by Vektor labs is currently undergoing clinical trials, while two other vaccine candidates will begin human trials within the next two months.
