Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

Scientists and drug companies are racing to develop and test treatments and vaccines that address COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Work on both is progressing at an unprecedented speed but researchers are starting essentially from scratch on vaccine development, so the process is going to take a long time. Treatments, on the other hand, were further along when the outbreak started and might be available sooner.

Theyre in vastly different situations right now, says Florian Krammer, a professor and vaccine development expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Both treatments and vaccines are important for a robust and effective response to the outbreak. Treatments help people after they already have a disease; in the case of COVID-19, researchers hope to treat the around 15 percent of COVID-19 patients who have non-mild symptoms. Vaccines, on the other hand, help prevent people from getting sick in the first place.

Scientists started work on drugs to treat coronaviruses during the SARS and MERS outbreaks, but because the outbreaks died down, the job was never completed. Now, theyre able to dust off that old research and start building on it. The leading candidate is a drug called remdesivir, which was developed by the pharmaceutical company Gilead. Research showed that it could block SARS and MERS in cells and in mice. In addition, remdesivir was used in a clinical trial looking for treatments for Ebola and therefore, it had already gone through safety testing to make sure it doesnt cause any harm.

Thats why teams in China and the US were able to start clinical trials testing remdesivir in COVID-19 patients so quickly. There should be data available showing if it helps them get better as soon as April. If it proves effective, Gilead would presumably be able to ramp up production and get the drug in the hands of doctors fairly quickly, Krammer says.

The vaccine development process will take much longer. Experts say that it will be between a year and 18 months, or maybe longer, before theyre available to the public. One of the strategies for creating a vaccine involves making copies of one part of the virus (in this case, the bit that the novel coronavirus uses to infiltrate cells). Then, the immune system of the person who receives the vaccine makes antibodies that neutralize that particular bit. If they were exposed to the virus, those antibodies would be able to stop the virus from functioning.

The pharmaceutical company Moderna is the furthest along in the process; it already has that type of vaccine ready for testing. A trial in 45 healthy people to make sure that its safe will start in March or April and will take around three months to complete. After that, itll have to be tested in an even larger group to check if it actually immunizes people against the novel coronavirus. That will take six to eight months. And then, itll have to be manufactured at a huge scale, which poses an additional challenge.

Making vaccines is always challenging. Developing this one is made more difficult because there has never been a vaccine for any type of coronavirus. We dont have a production platform, we have no experience in safety, we dont know if there will be complications. We have to start from scratch, basically, Krammer says.

It was much easier to make a vaccine for H1N1, known as swine flu, which emerged as a never-before-seen virus in 2009. There are large vaccine producers in the US and globally for flu, Krammer says. Manufacturers were able to stop making the vaccine against the seasonal flu and start making a vaccine for this new strain of flu. They didnt need clinical trials, they just had to make the vaccine and distribute it, he says.

There wont be a vaccine done in time to hold off any approaching outbreak of COVID-19 in the US or in other countries where its still not widespread. Thats why treatments are so important: along with good public health practices, they can help blunt the impact of the disease and make it less of an unstoppable threat. The best experts can hope for is that a vaccine can help prevent other outbreaks in the future if the novel coronavirus sticks around.

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Its going to take a lot longer to make a COVID-19 vaccine ...

Daily briefing: This is the state of COVID-19 vaccine development now  Nature.com

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Daily briefing: This is the state of COVID-19 vaccine development now - Nature.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) As COVID-19 continues to spread across the nation, the race for a vaccine is underway.

There are over 40 different vaccine candidates that are on the books that are beginning to be studied, said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, who is a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. What we want to do, if indeed possible, is to make a vaccine that would prevent infection that would be able to allow us to raise this isolation and to go about our regular duties.

According to Dr. Edwards, it can take up to 6 or 7 years before a vaccine is licensed and ready to roll out, but with COVID-19 there is a focus to get a vaccine out much quicker.

So what we are talking about is trying to get a vaccine licensed in a period of 18 months, said Dr. Edwards.

Dr. Edwards says the virus doesnt seem to be changing too much which is a good sign once a vaccine is made.

So I think we all hope that one vaccine that would be directed to this coronavirus would be adequate to take care of this coronavirus, said Dr. Edwards.

The total number of positive cases in the state of Tennessee as of Thursday was 4,634 with 94 deaths.

(This only reflects what the TDH is reporting each day at 2 p.m. CST. For updated totals listed by agencies across Tennessee visit WKRN.com)

Most patients with COVID-19 have a mild respiratory illness including fever, cough and shortness of breath. The Tennessee Department of Health strongly encourages Tennesseans to wash your hands often with soap and water and to not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

The CDC recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 10 people or more throughout the United States.

High-risk individuals are defined as adults over 60 years old or people of any age with serious chronic medical conditions such as: Heart disease, diabetes, or lung disease.

The Tennessee Department of Health offers a COVID-19 Public Information Line at 877-857-2945, with information available daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time.

Stay with News 2 for continuing coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

You can also find more information and resources below:

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When will a COVID-19 vaccine be ready? - WKRN News 2

TORONTO (AP) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday Canadians will need to stay at home and practice physical distancing for months as the first wave of COVID-19 cases in the country wont end until the summer and Canada wont return to normal until there is a vaccine which could take a year and a half.

Trudeaus starkest comments to date about the pandemic came as Canadas top public health officer predicted it could cost at least 4,500 lives and a government agency announced the Canadian economy lost 1,011,000 jobs in March.

READ MORE: After closures at U.S.-Canada border, Trump says hell halt nonessential travel at southern border

Trudeau said the country is in the early stage of the outbreak because the virus came to Canada later than to some other nations and he said the first wave wont reach its peak until late spring. Trudeau called it the challenge of our generation.

This is the new normal, until a vaccine is developed, Trudeau said. It will take months of continued, determined effort. Well need to keep practicing physical distancing, staying home and washing our hands.

Once Canada gets through the first wave, some economic activity will start up again, he said.

Its important that people understand that we will have to be vigilant for a year or year and half. There will be things we are not able to do, Trudeau said.

READ MORE: Virus crisis cuts off billions sent to poor around the world

He said that even after the first wave ends, smaller outbreaks are likely until there is a vaccine. Canada had more than 19,774 confirmed cases and 461 deaths as of Thursday. The country has conducted more than 373,000 tests.

Health officials said they expected the number of Canadians killed by the disease to double over the next week said that without controls in place, models show as many as 80% of Canadas population could become infected, and as many as 350,000 could die.

These stark numbers tell us we must do everything we can now to remain in that best-case scenario, said Dr. Theresa Tam, Canadas chief public health officer.

Continued here:

Canada unlikely to return to normal until there is a COVID-19 vaccine - PBS NewsHour

DetailsCategory: VaccinesPublished on Friday, 10 April 2020 13:16Hits: 292

GMP-Manufactured Batch to be Delivered in June 2020

Human Dosing Expected to Begin in Summer 2020

SAN DIEGO, CA, USA I April 09, 2020 I Arcturus Therapeutics(the Company, NASDAQ: ARCT), a leading messenger RNA medicines company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines, today announced plans to initiate a human clinical trial this Summer for its COVID-19 vaccine, also known as LUNAR-COV19. Under the guidance of the Singapore Health Sciences Authority (HSA), the trial plans to enroll up to 76 healthy volunteer adults including elderly individuals, with follow-up over several months to evaluate extent and duration of immune response.

Arcturus had a very productive meeting with the HSA where the clinical development plan was discussed in detail. We foresee continuing to work with the HSA in a collaborative fashion as we approach initiation of the first clinical trial, saidJoseph Payne, President & CEO ofArcturus Therapeutics.

LUNAR-COV19 is a very low dose, potential single-shot (i.m.), self-replicating mRNA vaccine that is devoid of any viral material or co-adjuvants. Utilizing Arcturus processes, the mRNA vaccine product is readily manufactured, with the initial GMP batch to be delivered in June. Preclinical in vitro data shows that administration of LUNAR-COV19 generates effective expression of the COVID-19 virus spike protein the antigen to which protective antibodies will be formed.

About Arcturus TherapeuticsFounded in 2013 and based in San Diego, California, Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: ARCT) is an mRNA medicines and vaccines company with enabling technologies LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery & STARR mRNA and mRNA drug substance along with drug product manufacturing expertise. Arcturus diverse pipeline of RNA therapeutics includes programs to potentially treat Ornithine Transcarbamylase (OTC) Deficiency, Cystic Fibrosis, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Glycogen Storage Disease Type 3, Hepatitis B, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Arcturus versatile RNA therapeutics platforms can be applied toward multiple types of nucleic acid medicines including messenger RNA, small interfering RNA, replicon RNA, antisense RNA, microRNA, DNA, and gene editing therapeutics. Arcturus technologies are covered by its extensive patent portfolio (187 patents and patent applications, issued in the U.S., Europe, Japan, China and other countries). Arcturus commitment to the development of novel RNA therapeutics has led to collaborations with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, CureVac AG, Synthetic Genomics Inc., Duke-NUS, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information visit http://www.Arcturusrx.com.

SOURCE: Arcturus Therapeutics

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Arcturus Therapeutics Announces Clinical Trial Timeline for its COVID-19 Vaccine | Vaccines | News Channels - PipelineReview.com

Help is on the way.

In the midst of a societal upheaval resulting from the novel coronavirus and the disease that it causes, COVID-19, there are many efforts in progress to find solutions to slow the spread of the disease and treat those who already have it. These efforts include those from governments, nonprofit organizations, and companies both privately held and publicly traded.

To help investors who desire to keep tabs on the publicly traded companies with COVID-19 programs, here are lists of all the companies with market caps of at least $200 million that are developing or have developed COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests.

Image source: Getty Images.

Several companies already had vaccine platforms targeting other coronaviruses such as MERS and SARS. This enabled them to rapidly prototype experimental vaccines for immunizing against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Following are all of the companies that are actively developing COVID-19 vaccines either on their own or in partnership with another drugmaker.

Data sources: Biotechnology Innovation Organization, company press releases, Yahoo! Finance.

Two of these companies appear to be in the lead right now. In March, Moderna initiated the first clinical testing in humans of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The biotech's messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine was developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases(NIAID). Inovio announced on April 6 that it had begun a phase 1 clinical study of experimental COVID-19 DNA vaccine INO-4800.

Several companies already have approved products on the market that could hold potential in treating patients with COVID-19. Others have experimental drugs that have been included in testing for other viruses that could be effective in targeting novel coronavirus infection. Some are scrambling to develop new therapies for COVID-19. Following are the companies that are developing or testing potential COVID-19 therapies.

Data sources: Biotechnology Innovation Organization, company press releases, Yahoo! Finance.

Three drugs with the potential to treat COVID-19 have received the most public attention. Gilead's remdesivir, which was originally developed to treat the Ebola virus, is in late-stage clinical studies and could be the most promising treatment, according to World Health Organization Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward. President Trump has spoken frequently about his view that anti-malaria drugschloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, which are marketed by companies including Sanofi, could be effective in treating COVID-19, although health officials have stressed that the efficacy of the drugs in treating COVID-19 remains unproven at this point.

The most pressing immediate need in the battle against COVID-19 is for diagnostic tests to determine if individuals are infected by the novel coronavirus. Companies both large and small quickly developed such tests, with several receiving emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be marketed commercially. Other companies have helped by providing COVID-19 testing services. Here are the companies engaged in activities related to testing for COVID-19.

Market Cap

Data sources: Biotechnology Innovation Organization, EvaluateMedTech, company press releases, Yahoo! Finance.

Roche and Thermo Fisher Scientific have committed to producing millions of COVID-19 tests. Abbott Labs recently launched the fastest COVID-19 test so far. Its test, which runs on the company's widely used ID NOW molecular diagnostics platform,can deliver positive results within five minutes and negative results within 13 minutes.

Investors looking to buy shares of companies with COVID-19 programs should first determine how much risk they're willing to take. Several of the companies are relatively small. The odds of failure, especially with experimental COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, are relatively high.

It's also important to evaluate each stock's prospects beyond the companies' COVID-19 efforts. If you would be interested in buying a given stock even if it wasn't developing a COVID-19 vaccine, treatment, or test, that should put the stock much higher on your list.

Read more here:

Here Are All the Companies Working on COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments, and Testing - Motley Fool

In an encouraging development, a second COVID-19 vaccine has entered Phase 1 trials in the US. Headed by the pharmaceutical company Inovio, the trial began on Monday and will include 40 healthy adult volunteers.

The first vaccine candidate by the pharmaceutical company Moderna began human trials mid-March in Seattle and has given two-thirds of participants the first of two jabs.

Representational image. Reuters.

The Inovio vaccine, dubbed INO-4800, will be given in two doses, four weeks apart. The trials will be conducted at the Centre for Pharmaceutical Research in Kansas City. If the first phase, which tests mainly for safety and adverse reactions, goes well, Inovio said it would develop a million doses by the end of the year to begin further investigations.

While this is breakneck speed as far as vaccine development is concerned, it will still be at least a year to 18 months before a viable candidate will be accessible to the public.

Preclinical trials involving animal models have shown that the vaccine was able to trigger strong immune responses. Previously, Inovio had conducted a phase 1 trial of a vaccine on MERS (a closely related cousin of COVID-19) which also showed strong immune responses.

This is a DNA vaccine - a small section of the virus is loaded onto synthetic DNA, which encodes proteins similar to those produced by the virus. The hope is that this will trigger an antibody response and help the host maintain immunity against the virus.

Unlike other vaccines, INO-4800 will be injected skin deep rather than muscle deep, and a tiny electric buzz will be administered since this triggers deeper penetration of the vaccine.

The project is funded partly by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and efforts are in place to hold clinical trials in China as well.

Novavax, a biotech company based in Maryland USA, has also shown encouraging signs in preclinical trials and expects to initiate the first phase of human trials by mid-May in Australia. Johnson and Johnson, which has partnered with and received $500 million from the US Department of Health, also said it would start human trials by September.

More imminently, the University of Pittsburgh and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are awaiting government approval so that they can start clinical trials as well.

For more information, read our article onCOVID-19 prevention and care tips for parents with young children.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

Updated Date: Apr 09, 2020 16:44:34 IST

Tags : Coronavirus, Coronavirus Treatments, COVID-19, COVID-19 Vaccines, Human Trials, Inovio, Moderna, NewsTracker, Novavox

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COVID-19 Vaccine: Here's what you need to know about the second vaccine candidate to start human trials - Firstpost

COVID-19 is a new pathogen, so less is known about the lung injury, although early reports suggest that the lung injury it causes is similar. LTI-03 can be administered through inhalation and will soon be tested in models of COVID-19 to see if it can prevent early lung inflammation and scarring that typically occurs in patients with severe COVID-19 lung infection. Should this research yield successful outcomes, the LTI-03 could rapidly be made available for clinical trial testing, and if successful, provide novel treatment for patients afflicted with severe COVID-19 lung injury.

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UT Health Science Center conducting COVID-19 vaccine, test, and treatment research - KLTV

- The Nonprofit Will Help Lead Pre-Clinical Development and Clinical Trial Oversight -

NEW YORK, April 09, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iBio, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN:IBIO) (iBio or the Company), a biologics contract manufacturing organization and biotechnology innovator, today announced the signing of two Master Services Agreements (the MSAs) and a Memorandum of Understanding (the MoU) with the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) in support of iBios SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like Particle (VLP) vaccine development.

Under the MSAs, IDRI will support pre-clinical development and provide clinical trial oversight, while iBio will provide process development and manufacturing services to IDRI, as needed. Additionally, the MoU calls for iBio and IDRI to establish a separate, additional agreement within the next 60 days if the Company opts to include one of IDRIs novel adjuvants in the COVID-19 vaccine development program (IBIO-200). The MSAs and the MoU integrate IDRI into iBios collaboration with the Texas A&M University System to create a strong partnership that brings deep experience and advanced technologies and capabilities to the task of moving IBIO-200 into the clinic.

We are delighted to have IDRI contribute its deep understanding of infectious diseases and vaccine development expertise to the team, said Tom Isett, Co-Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of iBio. We are also looking forward to evaluating the novel adjuvants in IDRIs portfolio that may deliver even greater immunostimulatory effects. A more potent antigen-adjuvant combination would further increase our projected manufacturing capacity for production of a vaccine for COVID-19 disease.

We are excited to be a partner in the development of IBIO-200, said Corey Casper, M.D., MPH, Chief Executive Officer of the IDRI and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Global Health at the University of Washington. Combining iBios VLP antigen with an IDRI adjuvant provides for promising safety and efficacy characteristics, and importantly, the ready ability to scale-up manufacturing to help meet the projected global demand for a suitable vaccine.

About iBio, Inc.

iBio is a global leader in plant-based biologics manufacturing. Its FastPharming System combines vertical farming, automated hydroponics, and glycan engineering technologies to rapidly deliver gram quantities of high-quality monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, bioinks and other proteins. The Companys subsidiary, iBio CDMO LLC, provides FastPharming Contract Development and Manufacturing Services via its 130,000 square foot facility in Bryan, Texas. Originally built in 2010 with funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), iBios FastPharming Facility was part of the Blue Angel initiative to establish factories capable of rapid delivery of medical countermeasures in response to a disease pandemic. iBios FastGlycaneering Development Service includes an array of new glycosylation technologies for engineering high-performance recombinant proteins. Additionally, iBio is developing proprietary products which include IBIO-100 for the treatment of fibrotic diseases and IBIO-200, a COVID-19 vaccine. For more information, visit http://www.ibioinc.com.

About the Infectious Disease Research InstituteAs a nonprofit global health organization, IDRI (Infectious Disease Research Institute) takes a comprehensive approach to combat infectious diseases, combining the high-quality science of a research organization with the product development capabilities of a biotech company to create vaccines and therapeutics. IDRI combines passion for improving human health with the understanding that it is not just what our scientists know about disease, but what we do to change its course that will have the greatest impact. Founded in 1993, IDRI has 55 employees headquartered in Seattle with more than 100 partners/collaborators around the world. For more information, visitwww.idri.org.

About The Texas A&M University System

TAMUS is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the states economy.

Story continues

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSSTATEMENTS INCLUDED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE RELATED TO IBIO, INC. MAY CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. SUCH STATEMENTS INVOLVE A NUMBER OF RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES SUCH AS COMPETITIVE FACTORS, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, MARKET DEMAND, AND THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO OBTAIN NEW CONTRACTS AND ACCURATELY ESTIMATE NET REVENUES DUE TO VARIABILITY IN SIZE, SCOPE, AND DURATION OF PROJECTS. FURTHER INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT THE COMPANY'S FINANCIAL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE COMPANY'S REPORTS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.

Contacts:

Stephen KilmeriBio, Inc.Investor Relations(646) 274-3580 skilmer@ibioinc.com

The Fearey GroupPublic Relations for IDRIIDRI@feareygroup.com

Originally posted here:

iBio Expands COVID-19 Vaccine Collaboration to Include the Infectious Disease Research Institute - Yahoo Finance

SARS-Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV2), cause of COVID-19, is the infection that the whole world is now trying to beat. The respiratory disease has arguably caused the most serious global crisis since World War II, infecting over one million people and causing more than 70,000 deaths.

As the world grapples with the pandemic, the scientific community is on the hunt for effective, scalable treatments, while at the same time developing a safe and tested vaccine.

It usually takes 10 to 15 years to develop a vaccine.

"For Ebola, we did it in five years, I know we can accelerate that," says Seth Berkley, the CEO of the global health partnership GAVI (Global Alliance For Vaccines and Immunization).

Highly unusually, human trials with an experimental COVID-19 vaccine have already begun. Seattle resident Jennifer Haller became the first person to receive one on March 16 2020, at her hometown's Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute.

She was one of a group of volunteers that were involved in testing on humans just weeks into the fast-spreading epidemic.

This experimental vaccine, officially named mRNA-1273, was developed by the National Institutes of Health and Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Moderna Inc. Theres no risk of the volunteers becoming infected, because the shots do not contain the coronavirus itself.

The World Health Organization says there are over 40 potential vaccines. There are reportedly as many as one hundred undergoing development, although only a handful are as yet being clinically tested.

A promising way of combating COVID-19 appears to be with a vaccine that manipulates a part of the virus known as RNA.

"The RNA molecule carries all the coronavirus' genetic information," explains Marie-Paule Kieny, Director of Research at the French Public Health organisation INSERM. "The RNA can be synthesised on a large scale in the laboratory. This is why it's being used in this first vaccine, for which there are clinical trials underway.

"Other vaccines are based on viral DNA, or on other viruses which have been weakened, which don't produce disease and in which we can include the genetic information of the COVID virus."

There are over thirty companies and academic institutions worldwide trying different approaches to find the silver bullet that will beat COVID-19.

In Germany, the biopharmaceutical company Curevac is using the so-called messenger molecule - mRNA - in a vaccine that it believes will be ready for clinical tests in June.

As Curevac spokesperson Thorsten Schller explains:

We use the mRNA to instruct the body to produce its own vaccine, so we only put information into the body. It's a totally new approach in medicine.

Curevac made the front pages when it was reported that US President Donald Trump had offered the company one billion dollars to secure the vaccine exclusively for the United States. But Schller insists the company never received any such offer from the White House or any other US institution:

"Our aim is to develop a vaccine for all people, all over the world. Then the health practitioners have to decide how to distribute such a vaccine.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has since offered CureVac 80 million euros in research funding to help develop a vaccine.

While the world waits for a vaccine, potentially millions of patients will need treatment. Researchers and doctors have started to test sometimes controversial combinations of existing drugs to treat those infected, but so far there is no cure.

In France, Marseille's University Hospital Institute has offered to test and treat people exhibiting COVID-19-like symptoms. Didier Raoult, head of the institute's infectious diseases department believes that a cheap and easily produced malaria drug can treat COVID-19. Raoult announced promising results on a small sample of patients in late February using Chloroquine and its related compound Hydroxy Chloroquine.

But Marie-Paule Kieny is one of many in the scientific community that are sceptical:

"I know that there's been a lot of talk, in France and elsewhere, about claims by certain researchers who say that this drug works, that this drug will save the world. But unfortunately, for the moment, the proof that this hydroxychloroquine medication is effective is extremely weak, or even non-existent.

Across the border in Italy, doctors at Milans San Raffaele Hospital are using the same combination of drugs suggested by Professor Raoult.

Fabio Ciceri, San Raffaele's Deputy Director explains there are no nationally-approved protocols and each hospital can choose its strategy:

"AIFA, the Italian Medicines Agency, has instructed us on a reasoned use of the drugs. So the drugs we are using are existing drugs, repurposed to be used against the coronavirus, based on laboratory results that demonstrate their potential to be effective".

Unheeded warnings

It's felt by some that the current pandemic could have been avoided, or at least very much better prepared for.

After all, there have been previous coronavirus outbreaks, beginning with SARS in 2003.

In 2015, the software developer and philanthropist Bill Gates gave a Ted Talk in which, three years after the MERS outbreak, he warned that the world was not ready for a future pandemic.

If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades its most likely to be a highly infectious virus, rather than a war. Not missiles, but microbes.

"Part of the reason for this is that while we have invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents, we have actually invested very little in the system to stop an epidemic. We are not ready for the next epidemic.

The warnings of Gates and others went largely unheeded. Some prominent epidemiologists blame a system more focused on commercial opportunities than public health needs.

Stuart Blume, Professor of Science and Technology at the University of Amsterdam agrees that despite the attention the issue has received globally, practical organisation and preparation was definitely lacking:

"All the countries for the last 10 years have been busy with epidemic preparedness scenarios. But they're still all over the place (in terms of) trying to find what to do.

Ildefonso Hernndez Aguado, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, at Alicante's Miguel Hernndez University says the worldwide financial crisis which began in 2008 influenced this lack of preparedness:

Previously, drills were carried out with a certain frequency to get ready for these events. This came to a halt because of the post-crisis years of austerity.

"Budget cuts were requested and money was saved in sectors that were thought to be inessential. Whats happening could have been foreseen, but policies and decision-making went the other way.

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Racing for a cure: where are we with COVID-19 vaccines and treatments? - Euronews