Race for Finding Cure for Coronavirus – Significant Breakthroughs So Far
Researchers and Scientists all over the world are racing against the time to find a cure or develop a vaccine for Coronavirus. The need to find a cure for Coronavirus is more than ever with over 180000 people infected and the number multiplying day by day. According to experts, in the worst-case scenario, billions of people around the world could get infected and millions could die. However, keeping faith in the advanced technologies of the 21st century and on our brilliant scientists, let’s hope that we will have a cure for COVID-19 developed before the situation gets out of hand. Here are some of the most significant breakthroughs in the past few months that have made us very hopeful about finding a cure for Coronavirus.
Coronavirus Grown in a Lab by Australian Scientists
Australian scientists were able to replicate the COVID-19 virus in the lab by the end of January. It might not be a cure for Coronavirus but it was still a significant breakthrough. Since then, it has helped in the accurate diagnosis of the virus and also has helped other scientists in their study to develop a vaccine.
Dr. Julian Druce, head of Peter Doherty Institute’s Virus Identification Laboratory, described this breakthrough as “a game-changer for diagnosis”. He also mentioned that “Having the real virus means we now can validate and verify all test methods, and compare their sensitivities and specificities.”
Scientists Map How Immune System Fights the Virus
A group of scientists has released a paper in Nature Medicine Journal on March 17 showing people have been recovering from the virus-like they would from the flu. According to Prof Katherine Kedzierska, this is the first success in our attempt to understand how our immune fights against the virus.
By studying a patient with mild virus infection and no previous health issue, researchers have identified 4 types of immune cells that fight the COVID-19. Prof Bruce Thompson, dean of health sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, said, “This significant breakthrough would help us predict where a patient is in the path of recovery.” The team is currently researching what caused the weak responses in the deceased patients so we can protect other infected patients.
Regeneron Announced Important Advances in COVID-19 Antibody Program
Regeneron made the announcement in it’s effort to develop a novel multi-antibody cocktail that can be administered as prophylaxis. This cocktail can be used as a preventive measure against COVID-19 virus or for treatment of those who are already infected with the virus. This breakthrough is significant as it includes identification of hundreds of virus-neutralizing antibodies.
Regeneron is targetting to start clinical human studies by early summer and initiate large-scale manufacturing by mid-April with antibody cocktail therapy.
Biggest Breakthrough So Far - Experimental Vaccine Testing in Humans
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced that they have started phase 1 clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine by testing it on humans for the first time. According to the director of the institution, Dr. Anthony Fauci, it is a significant achievement to be able to test the vaccine within a few months of discovery of the outbreak. He also mentioned that scientists and researchers have used the existing knowledge about Coronavirus acquired after SARS and MERS outbreak.
The vaccine, mRNA-1273, was developed at Moderna Inc., a biotechnology company in Cambridge. It will be tested on 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately 6 weeks. The main goal for this stage is to confirm if this vaccine is safe to use. Even if it is safe, the vaccine won’t be commercially available for at least a year.
