The coronavirus pandemic continues to plague the world with over
500,000 cases reported globally and over 82,000 cases in the US alone. As the
world grapples with the outbreak, several healthcare companies are working to develop
a vaccine against COVID-19. Let’s take a look at some of them:
Sanofi and Translate
Bio
The latest to announce their work on a vaccine against the coronavirus
are Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio (NASDAQ: TBIO). The companies today announced
a partnership to develop a novel mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. The duo will work together
to assess multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates to push for advanced clinical
development.
Sanofi Pasteur is the vaccines business division of Sanofi ADR (NASDAQ: SNY). This is Sanofi’s second collaboration in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. The company already has an agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a protein-based vaccine candidate against the coronavirus.
Altimmune
Altimmune (NASDAQ: ALT), which announced its FY19 earnings results today, disclosed that it has begun the development of AdCOVID, an intranasal vaccine candidate against COVID-19. The company is working towards a Phase 1 clinical trial as early as the third quarter of this year.
Regeneron
Last week, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) said it has identified virus-neutralizing antibodies, which can be used in a cocktail therapy to prevent or treat the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In addition to this, Regeneron, along with Sanofi, announced the start of a Phase 2/3 clinical trial in order to evaluate Kevzara for the treatment of patients with severe COVID-19.
Gilead
In February, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) announced the start of two Phase 3 clinical studies to assess the efficiency of remdesivir in the treatment of the novel coronavirus.
Moderna
Last month, Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) said it released the first batch of its coronavirus vaccine, mRNA-1273, for human use. Vials of mRNA-1273 were shipped to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to be used in the Phase 1 study in the US.
Last week, the company announced that the first participant has been dosed in the Phase 1 study of the mRNA vaccine against COVID-19. The study will have two doses of vaccinations and the participants will be followed through 12 months after the second vaccination.