The race is on to develop a vaccine to fight against the spread of coronavirus and one candidate in Queensland is looking decent so far.
The University of Queensland says the initial results of its pre-clinical trials on a vaccine candidate are promising, after it was selected for the task of testing it by the international research organisation, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI).
“This is what we were hoping for, and it’s a great relief for the team given the tremendous faith placed in our technology by CEPI, Federal and Queensland Governments and our philanthropic partners,” Professor Young said in a media release.
“We were particularly pleased that the strength of the antibody response was even better than those observed in samples from COVID-19 recovered patients.”
The potential vaccine, developed by Viroclinics Xplore, works by using a molecular clamp technology it developed that “locks the ‘spike’ protein into a shape which allows the immune system to be able to recognize and then neutralize the virus.”
All going well with the remainder of the trial, the team aims to enter human trials by August or September.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/04/csiro-coronavirus-vaccine-trials-ferrets/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ferret-410×231.jpg” title=”CSIRO Starts Coronavirus Vaccine Trials Using Ferrets” excerpt=”CSIRO has announced it’s working on pre-clinical trials for coronavirus vaccine candidates using an animal they previously worked with during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s ” the humble ferret.”]
While the early results are a good sign, Australia’s ” and the world’s ” hopes thankfully don’t lie in their success alone. A number of other candidates are undertaking trials across the country in the hope that one potential vaccine proves successful.
A new human trial is set to be underway with a Perth-based clinic being given the green light to test Chinese-developed candidate, per The New Daily. A small group of Australians will be among the first to test out COVID-19 S-Trimer and if it proves to be successful, thousands more will trial it out in the next phase.
In March, the CSIRO threw its hat into the vaccine ring announcing it was entering pre-clinical trials with two candidates, testing their efficacy on ferrets and hoping to garner positive results by June or July.
Human trials have already been underway for nearly a month using the tuberculosis vaccine, Bacille Calmette-Guérin, which will see 4,000 frontline health workers around Australia participate to see if it can be boost their immune systems.
With the race well and truly underway around the country and across the globe, the wait is on to see if any prove to be a success. We just need one of them to be.
[Via University of Queensland]
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/04/tuberculosis-vaccine-coronavirus-australia/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/vaccinesamples-410×231.jpg” title=”WHO Warns Against Using TB Vaccine For Coronavirus Just As Australia Begins Human Trials” excerpt=”Human trials for a tuberculosis vaccine thought to boost immune systems in the fight against coronavirus are underway in Australia but despite the promising outlook, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned against using the vaccine outside of clinical settings.”]