Oxford Begins COVID-19 Vaccine Trials to Meet September Deadline
On Mar. 17, 2020, European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen said she was hopeful a vaccine for COVID-19 could be available this September. Her view was based on conversations she had had with managers of German biotechnology firm CureVac AG which has developed an experimental messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine that it plans to […]
Inovio COVID-19 Vaccine Uses Electricity to Drive DNA Into Body Cells
Story Highlights Inovio Pharmaceuticals has started Phase 1 testing of its experimental COVID-19 DNA vaccine in healthy volunteers. The U.S. biotech firm has already produced enough of the vaccine to support Phase 1 (immune system reactivity and safety) and Phase 2 (efficacy) testing and plans to have one million doses ready for distribution by the […]
University of Pittsburgh Researchers Use Genetically Modified Measles Vaccine to Create COVID-19 Vaccine
Vaccine developers at the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Vaccine Research (CVR) have taken a part of the coronavirus involved in COVID-19 infection and attached it to a genetically modified measles vaccine that has been used for many years.1 According to CVR Director Dr. Paul Duprex, “CVR has a mandated role to respond rapidly to […]
Bill Gates Says Health Care Workers Will Be First to Get Coronavirus Vaccine
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates predicted on Mar. 18, 2020 that the first licensed coronavirus vaccines for COVID-19 will be available within 18 months and that health care workers will be among the first to get the shots. Gates co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which recently invested $50 million to develop a […]
Adenovirus Based Coronavirus Vaccine Being Tested
Greffex, Inc., a privately-held, multinational genetic engineering company headquartered in Houston, Texas has announced that it has completed development of a vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus. The vaccine will now proceed to testing in laboratory animals under supervision by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and regulatory agencies in China.1 Greffex Got $18.9M from […]
HIV Vaccine Fails Clinical Trial in South Africa
Story Highlights Another attempt to create an effective vaccine against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been stopped early because it was not found to prevent HIV infection. It is estimated that 1,000 people are newly infected every day in South Africa. HIV virus appears to evade and destroy cells of the immune system and […]