Coronavirus vaccine triggered immune response in all trial participants, firm says

A Chinese drug company has announced positive early results of a vaccine against the coronavirus, claiming it induced an immune response in 100 per cent of those who were given it.

The vaccine is being developed by the firm China National Biotec Group (CNBG) and is one of the frontrunners among more than 200 other candidates in the race to develop an effective inoculation against the disease.

The development of a safe and effective vaccine is seen as the only way the world can finally defeat the virus but it is likely to be at least a year before one is available.

The phase one/two trial, involving 1,120 healthy participants aged between 18 and 59, found that the vaccine induced high-level antibodies in 100 per cent of all those who took part.

CNBG said it was looking to conduct late-stage and large-scale phase three trials overseas

Earlier this week another Chinese biotech, Sinovac, announced positive results for its coronavirus vaccine, saying it was hoping to move to large-scale phase three trials in Brazil soon.

According to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (Cepi), which invests in vaccines for pandemic diseases, there are currently more than 200 vaccines against the coronavirus in development. While North America has the largest number of vaccine projects underway – accounting for 49 per cent of the world’s total – China is furthest along the development track.

Other leading candidates include those being developed by CanSino in China – which has already published phase I/II data, Pfizer and BioNTech in Germany, Moderna Pharmaceuticals in the US and Oxford University and AstraZeneca in the UK.

Dr Nick Jackson, head of programmes and technology at Cepi, said that the next few months would see a number of groups unveiling trial data, with the Oxford University and Astra Zeneca group expected to announce its phase I/II results within the next few weeks.

He said a number of vaccines would emerge as suitable for use in the real world.

"The first vaccine may not be the best – there are a number of examples historically where the first vaccine is far from superior and it is the second generation vaccine that works better. The first vaccine may not be the best but it's suitable for dealing with the pandemic," he said.

Neither group has published full trial data yet.

Dr Jackson said: "Data sharing is absolutely crucial for the success of the field because we can learn from others that are advancing... There are no guarantees of success - however Cepi and other organisations around the world are working towards several vaccines."

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