Chinese researchers to conduct phase 2 of human trial for COVID-19 vaccine

The Institute of Medical Biology at Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IMBCAMS) said on Sunday that it has started a second phase human trial of a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

As of now, more than a dozen vaccines are in different stages of human trials globally.

However,  none of the vaccines have passed late-stage phase 3 clinical trials, a step required for getting regulatory approval for sale.

IMBCAMS began on Saturday a phase 2 human test for its experimental shot. The phase-2 trial will determine the shot`s dose and continue to evaluate whether the potential vaccine can safely trigger immune responses in healthy people, Reuters reported.

The institute further says that it expects to use a plant dedicated to producing a coronavirus vaccine this year to prepare for China`s future vaccine supplies.

Meanwhile, there are about 30 groups in India, including big industry, startups and academics, who are working on COVID-19 vaccine development and about 20 of them are keeping a good pace, Government's top scientific advisor said on May 28.

Addressing a media briefing on the coronavirus situation in the country, Professor K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said the logistics of making COVID-19 vaccine accessible to everyone is a big challenge which is being discussed by the government now.

Raghavan said a vaccine normally takes 10-15 years to develop and costs $ 200 - 300 million but the effort now is to do this in 1 year which would raise the cost substantially. 

"...we need to do parallel processing. Instead of working on 1 COVID-19 vaccine, the world is working on ~ 100 vaccines at the same time. Simultaneously, we have to speed up regulatory processes without compromising on safety, expand manufacturing capacity and build distribution systems, so, instead of $200-300 million, it will cost $2-3 billion," he said.

Raghavan noted that India's vaccine manufacturing is world-class. 

The Coronavirus has now infected more than 8.8 Million people, killing 465000 people worldwide.

The virus was first detected in late 2019 in China, and is believed to have originated from a seafood market in Wuhan.