COVID-19 >> New Drug Activity & VACCINE TRACKING!!

cc · May 04, 2020, 08:30:38 PM

https://www.foxnews.com/health/possible-coronavirus-vaccine-human-testing-trial">Possible coronavirus vaccine enters human testing trial

Progress is being made toward a viable vaccine for the coronavirus, say researchers at a Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals along with the University of Pennsylvania's research facility and the Wistar Institute, have been working on the vaccine as early as this past January. Originally reported by Fox News, the vaccine was fast-tracked into development after the Chinese government made the genome sequencing of COVID-19 public.

Nearly three months later, a crucial first phase of testing has begun. Researchers with Inovio say that they were able to design their vaccine in just three hours after receiving a sequence for the virus.

"We immediately started testing the vaccine in the laboratory. And we're quite confident about the results that we've seen," Dr. Kate Broderick, senior vice president, R&D at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, tells Fox News, adding that trials on human subjects began just last week. "We treated three people last week. But getting our vaccine into human beings is a huge step. But we did that in 83 days, which certainly in my career is absolutely an unprecedented level of speed."

While testing has begun, Broderick says there are still too many unknown variables associated with the virus and how it may affect the vaccine.

"In some patients, it looks like people who had the disease but now recovered have kind of these sort of low antibodies levels, but we don't know if that's a consistent result across everybody that's contracted the virus so far," she says. "So, we need to learn more about how the virus affects people and how people are affected by that infection before we can see too much about how that impacts vaccine design."

Seems all scientific forces are in overdrive

cc · May 04, 2020, 08:34:31 PM

Continued:

"What we don't know is that they contract the virus for a second time, which obviously would be very unlucky, but possible. Or is it just that they haven't fully recovered the first time around? So that's really what we're learning as we speak and as we move forward. And that's what kind of makes treating this virus very difficult because there's still so much we don't understand about it."

Approximately 40 people will be tested during the initial phase at locations in Kansas City and the University of Pennsylvania. Final results from the tests are expected by the summer.

"Phase one is supposed to be normal, healthy people. And in this case, they have not, as far as we know, they have not been infected with COVID-19," Dr. David Weiner, of the Wistar Institute, and one of the lead researchers working on the coronavirus vaccine, told Fox News. "The first study is really just safety and tolerability in relatively low-risk people just to make sure the vaccine by itself, how well it's tolerated by people. You're watching that very closely, so you can figure how many people you can give it to and whether there's going to be issues."

This part of the study would be followed by phase two, in which the at-risk population is tested.

"Phase two is really where you start to test out larger numbers and efficacy. And Inovio has already produced enough dosing for that several thousand doses in there because that process is so robust to get through that study as well. So, that's clearly on their radar."

Anonymous · May 04, 2020, 09:00:26 PM

OECD governments have pledged billions of dollars to finding a vaccine. The White House, has operation warp speed to get a vaccine by January. Several other countries are fast tracking possible vaccines.

This is encouraging cc, but I think at the earliest, a vaccine will not be available until the spring of 2021.

cc · May 05, 2020, 12:52:41 PM

https://www.peacearchnews.com/news/vancouver-biotech-company-discovering-antibodies-for-covid-19-treatment/">A Different approach from Vancouver

There may be another valuable shield in the fight against COVID-19, and the head of a Vancouver biotech firm says it could buy time as researchers race to develop a vaccine.

Carl Hansen, CEO of AbCellera Biologics Inc., said a drug built with antibodies could be used to protect vulnerable populations until a vaccine is more widely available.

The antibodies would give patients all the molecular material they need to fight the disease instead of depending on their bodies to develop their own as with a vaccine, giving them faster protection, he said.

"A prophylactic antibody could well be more effective than a vaccine," he said.

$175 million federal funding for AbCellera to support its work in discovering those antibodies using a high-tech platform.

The funding also supports the company's plans to build technology and manufacturing infrastructure for antibody therapies against future pandemic threats.

In partnership with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, AbCellera is among a handful of companies on track for clinical trials this summer.

"There are many groups trying to rapidly develop vaccines for COVID-19 and vaccines are a very important part of the global response," Hansen said.

"What we're doing is different. What we're doing is searching through an immune response that was generated from an actual infection and recovery in a patient and then finding that one antibody out of the literally millions that is best suited to stop the virus and that can be manufactured," he said.

In 2012, Hansen said AbCellera recognized it could combine technologies from artificial intelligence, genomics, microfluidics and immunology to quickly search through natural immune systems to find antibodies that fight infection.

Anonymous · May 05, 2020, 08:32:19 PM

~~Quote from: "cc"~~https://www.peacearchnews.com/news/vancouver-biotech-company-discovering-antibodies-for-covid-19-treatment/">A Different approach from Vancouver

There may be another valuable shield in the fight against COVID-19, and the head of a Vancouver biotech firm says it could buy time as researchers race to develop a vaccine.

Carl Hansen, CEO of AbCellera Biologics Inc., said a drug built with antibodies could be used to protect vulnerable populations until a vaccine is more widely available.

The antibodies would give patients all the molecular material they need to fight the disease instead of depending on their bodies to develop their own as with a vaccine, giving them faster protection, he said.

"A prophylactic antibody could well be more effective than a vaccine," he said.

$175 million federal funding for AbCellera to support its work in discovering those antibodies using a high-tech platform.

The funding also supports the company's plans to build technology and manufacturing infrastructure for antibody therapies against future pandemic threats.

In partnership with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, AbCellera is among a handful of companies on track for clinical trials this summer.

"There are many groups trying to rapidly develop vaccines for COVID-19 and vaccines are a very important part of the global response," Hansen said.

"What we're doing is different. What we're doing is searching through an immune response that was generated from an actual infection and recovery in a patient and then finding that one antibody out of the literally millions that is best suited to stop the virus and that can be manufactured," he said.

In 2012, Hansen said AbCellera recognized it could combine technologies from artificial intelligence, genomics, microfluidics and immunology to quickly search through natural immune systems to find antibodies that fight infection.

But, how long will it take before this is available and what until then?

cc · May 05, 2020, 09:02:32 PM

Dunno. No timeline was offered. Because they are taking a totally different road / shorter route, there is a strong possibility it could be faster than others

cc · May 05, 2020, 11:46:25 PM

Man-made antibody 'neutralizes' coronavirus for first time, study shows[/url]

Though there is currently no known scientific cure for the disease known as COVID-19, researchers have created an antibody "that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2" in cells, offering the potential for prevention and treatment.

The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, notes the antibody, known as 47D11, was created in a lab environment and was able to inhibit the spike protein found in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as SARS-CoV.

"Our data show that 47D11 neutralizes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 through a yet unknown mechanism that is different from receptor-binding interference," the researchers wrote in the study. "Alternative mechanisms of coronavirus neutralization by RBD-targeting antibodies have been reported including spike inactivation through antibody-induced destabilization of its prefusion structure17, which may also apply for 47D11."

SARS-CoV is also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which first surfaced in 2002 in China and resulted in the 2002-2004 outbreak of the virus.

The virus, linked to horseshoe bats, resulted in 774 known deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 47D11 antibody is known as a monoclonal antibody, which has been used for cancer drugs previously, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Monoclonal antibodies are defined as "laboratory-produced molecules engineered to serve as substitute antibodies," the Mayo Clinic added.

It's early in the development process of any potential drug, but it's promising nonetheless, the researchers noted.

"...This is the first report of a (human) monoclonal antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2. 47D11 binds a conserved epitope on the spike RBD explaining its ability to cross-neutralize SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, using a mechanism that is independent of receptor-binding inhibition," the researchers wrote.

The researchers continued: "This antibody will be useful for development of antigen detection tests and serological assays targeting SARS-CoV-2. Neutralizing antibodies can alter the course of infection in the infected host supporting virus clearance or protect an uninfected host that is exposed to the virus. Hence, this antibody – either alone or in combination – offers the potential to prevent and/or treat COVID-19, and possibly also other future emerging diseases in humans caused by viruses from the Sarbecovirus

Anonymous · May 06, 2020, 02:45:20 AM

I can't remember what they used for SARS, but I wondered if those treatments would work for COVID-19.

caskur · May 06, 2020, 06:14:10 PM

In WA and 3 other states for a week now, no new cases...Two territories have Zero cases as well.

This is what quaratine means. And finding clusters and dealing with the clusters if and when they pop up...

Anonymous · May 06, 2020, 06:25:47 PM

Quebec alone adds about 1000 new cases a day and about 100 deaths. But, when the second wave comes, places like Quebec currently with 35,000 cases of the virus will fare better than Australia and New Zealand because Montreal(the epicentre of the Quebec pandemic) will have some immunity. So, without a vaccine, you catch it now or later.

Anonymous · May 07, 2020, 03:47:28 AM

~~Quote from: "iron horse jockey"~~Quebec alone adds about 1000 new cases a day and about 100 deaths. But, when the second wave comes, places like Quebec currently with 35,000 cases of the virus will fare better than Australia and New Zealand because Montreal(the epicentre of the Quebec pandemic) will have some immunity. So, without a vaccine, you catch it now or later.

That is one way of looking at it. These so called successes in controlling the spread of COVID are likely just short term bragging points.

Anonymous · May 07, 2020, 06:52:36 AM

~~Quote from: "iron horse jockey"~~Quebec alone adds about 1000 new cases a day and about 100 deaths. But, when the second wave comes, places like Quebec currently with 35,000 cases of the virus will fare better than Australia and New Zealand because Montreal(the epicentre of the Quebec pandemic) will have some immunity. So, without a vaccine, you catch it now or later.

Not when it's mostly people in elder care..

If they do survive they could be in worse shape.

Vancouver · May 07, 2020, 11:26:16 PM

This lady is awesome. Be smart like her. Wearing a face mask is only an act.

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COVID-19 >> New Drug Activity & VACCINE TRACKING!!

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