We share our vaccine with the world. ‘Within the Chinese biotech companies leading the fight against COVID-19

We share our vaccine with the world. ‘Within the Chinese biotech companies leading the fight against COVID-19

It ‘was the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, and not Al Pacino in The Godfather Part 2, the first said, “Close your friends think, and your enemies closer.” Yin Weidong, managing director of China’s Sinovac Biotech companies seem to have taken the advice to heart. On the desk in his office in Beijing two plastic models of a virus-each blue core surrounded by peaks red protein. From the moment it started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December spread the virus contained virtually any time of day for the scientist was concerned. The pandemic, now we know how COVID-19 has raged on every continent. distributed on dozens of charts of infection per day, the nation glued to the floor of Yin office wall limit, the numbers of a terrible story to tell: 16 million infections and 640,000 deaths worldwide, including 146,000 American lives as of Monday lost. But if the enemy is near, so a new potential friend. Yin desk is now also home to several small vials of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine-synchronized CoronaVac last week began Phase 3 testing with 9,000 volunteers in Brazil. (A phase 1 study includes small groups of patients a vaccine for the negative side effects to be controlled and a test second phase in the rule for a combination of security and efficiency, while a phase 3 trial as a phase 2 but many more participants are involved.) “collection in search of data, I think we have more than a 80% chance of success,” said Yin. Normally Phase 3 studies is considered fast in about 10 years, more than pathogen identification. The mumps vaccine is considered ever developed in four years, usually the fastest. But if all goes well, could CoronaVac for approval early next year to complete. Not that Yin is satisfied. “You think it’s really fast? Compared to the spread of the virus, but is not fast enough,” he says, his nemesis plastic grip against reluctant. “This is how we should measure our progress.” During the 2002-2003 outbreak of SARS, the global demand of 774 lives, was Sinovac is the only company to go to phase 1 vaccine trials, but the pandemic suddenly disappeared. This means that the search was set in a big loss for the company. It was not lost, though. Now, 17 years later, Sinovac has the ability to build on previous work, as COVID-19 is very similar to SARS. He and Corona are “like brothers,” says Yin. only a third of the battle is still to create an effective vaccine. The other two poles of the development of vaccines are to achieve the production capacity and the admission. Currently, every nation must equal CoronaVac FDA would approve independently, although the unprecedented need for data, there are discussions on streamlining. “The virus does not require a passport, but the vaccine needs of each country on leave,” says Yin. Sinovac aims to produce 300 million doses a year to three times the current capacity. That sounds impressive, but affordability is likely to be a big problem. Since at least two doses may be needed to immunize a person, it would be nearly a decade to vaccinate all people in China alone, it does not matter to share the vaccine with 7.6 billion people worldwide. “If only one or two countries have protected this does not solve the problem and new economic activity to normal,” said Yin. Sinovac is the only company with a potential vaccine in clinical evaluation. There are more than 20 companies around the world with more than 130 vaccines under development in the task in question, according to WHO. But given the extent of need, there is no quick fix way both to the pandemic. Another candidate vaccine, developed by US biotech company Moderna with the National Institutes of Health, causing the desired immune response in a test of 45 people and are about to enter Phase 3 studies works from an mRNA sequence that introduce a molecule the cells what to build encodes a disease-specific antigen shows. the antigen is produced in the body once signed by the immune system, it helps to end the real virus. But while such RNA vaccines, as they are known, have several advantages, including the speed of production, they should be stored at temperatures below zero degrees. This means that the distribution is problematic distant populations. While Sinovac initially experimented with RNA and other prototypes of vaccines, they found that a traditional inactivated virus vaccine produces the best results. Under normal conditions, Yin believes CoronaVac a term of three years. “It is to discover the purpose of this work, that the technology is better,” says Yin. “The purpose is to control the disease.” Basically, Sinovac, a private company that has CoronaVac as an intellectual property license, which means that the distributed vaccine was a purely commercial decision. However, the Chinese government has contributed to the estimate of one billion yuan ($140 million) invested in CoronaVac society. currently negotiating these and other international NGO contributions are all connected with the distribution obligations. In a World Health Assembly speech on May 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged a COVID-19 vaccine in China to make a production “global public good.” In reality, of course, each queue has someone on the back, it means a lot of jostling for, priorities and Beijing may increase global influence. After Benjamin N. Gedan, former regional director about the now National Security Council at the White House with the Wilson Center, “If China produces the first vaccine to large-scale crown, it would be an extraordinary diplomatic tool anywhere in the world.” Sinovac has already pledged to share 60-100000000 cans in Brazil through a partnership with São Paulo-based Institute Butantan, phase 3 study runs. In Asia, the company is “actively in discussions with several countries,” said Yin, including Indonesia and Turkey, and options to explore in Europe. It also has more than 30 meeting must update the global health body WHO on their progress. “We will share our vaccine with the world,” says Yin.
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