EXCLUSIVE! COVID-19 Drugs & Vaccines: A List Of All The Research And Developments Underway Encompassing More Than 149 Projects.

COVID-19 Drugs And Vaccines: As the total number of global confirmed COVID-19 Infections reaches 10,267, 578 and the total confirmed deaths due to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus reaches 504, 812 (29^th June, 2.45am California), people everywhere and healthcare professionals are getting more anxious as to date there are no real confirmed drugs or treatments protocols that can really treat COVID-19 effectively while the pandemic is actually set to escalate soon.


 
The initial frontrunners such as alpha interferon, Lopinavir / Ritonavir, Oseltamivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Favipiravir, Camostat, Ledipasvir, Neifinavir, Danoprevie, Tenofovir, Azithromycin, Tocilizumab, etc used in various protocols or combos have failed to show any true efficacy against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus or its accompanying conditions or symptoms. https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-drugs-us-fda-drug-trial-concludes-that-most-drugs-being-used-including-favipiravir,-lopinavir,-ritonavir,-chloroquine-has-no-effects and https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-news-study-confirms-that-lopinavir%E2%80%93ritonavir-ineffective-in-treating-covid-19 and https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/favipiravir-studies-involving-animal-models-shows-favipiravir-has-very-weak-effect-on-sars-cov-2-and-not-viable-as-an-effective-therapeutic
 
Gilead’s Remdesivir is highly controversial as no safety studies have ever been conducted on the drug and the drug was hastily approved by the Trump administration with possible ‘negative unethical connotations and acts involved’ but even then a lot of other incompetent European countries are also following suit despite the only supporting medical fact is that the drug can only reduce hospitalization time by 5 days!
 
As more details emerge as to how the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus affects the human body, it is now recognized that it is not just a normal respiratory disease but is one that affects the various organs and systems of the human body and it is becoming a reality that no single drug will be able to treat COVID-19 but rather a whole list of drugs starting from antivirals to anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-clotting drugs, antibiotics for secondary infections and sepsis and other drugs, all depending on the strains affecting the patients and their underlying medical conditions and how the virus decides to attack their bodies.
 
Many drug repurposing studies have seen promising candidates from cheap and common drugs like ivermectin, colchicine, prazosin, famotidine, niclosamide, disulfiram, celebrex, heparin, inhaled nitric oxide and also dexamethasone, but more research and clinical trials are needed but unfortunately in most cases these is a lack of funding as the big pharma giants do not find it viable to support the research of drugs whose patents have lapsed. (studies on all these drugs can be found in Thailand Medical News, simply use the search function)
 
Then there have been supplements and phytochemicals that have shown certain degrees of efficacy towards treating or being used as adjuvant treatments for COVID-19. Some of these include Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Magnesium, Melatonin, Omega-3 fatty acids, Glutathione, NAC (N-Acety Cysteine), Alpha-Lipoic Acid, EGCG (from Green Tea), Silymarin (from Milk Thistle), Selenium, Rutin, Quercetin, Hesperidin Licorice Root, Aswagandha, Artemisia Annua,  Occulus Hirsutus, Andrographis Panniculata , Curcumin, Honeysuckle flowers, the TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) formulations Qingfei Paidu and Lianhua Qingwen. (Articles and studies on all these can be found on Thailand Medical News.) However once again, more detailed studies and funding are needed to further explore all of these for use in possible COVID-19 treatments.
 
These are the list of 149 drug and vaccine developments and  research being done by various pharmaceutical companies in terms of finding possible drugs, vaccines or treatment protocols for COVID-19.
 
1. BioNTech, Pfizer, and Fosun Pharma
 
Candidate: BNT162 
Type: Potential first-in-class mRNA vaccine designed to induce immunity and prevent COVID-19 infection
 
Status: BioNTech and Pfizer said April 9 they intend to launch their first clinical trials for an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the end of April, initially in the United States and Europe across multiple sites. The companies said they will advance multiple candidates.
 
2. CanSino Biologics
 
Candidate: Vaccine for prevention of COVID-19 
Type: Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Disease Vaccine incorporating the Adenovirus Type 5 Vector (Ad5-nCoV)
 
Status: CanSino on April 9 said it and China’s Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, plan to initiate phase II clinical trial for Ad5-nCoV in China. The vaccine candidate is the first novel coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19 to advance to Phase I in China. The company has cited results from animal studies showing that the vaccine candidate can induce strong immune response in animal models.
 
3. CytoDyn
 
Candidate: Leronlimab (PRO 140) 
Type: Humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody. Leronlimab is CytoDyn’s lead candidate, and is a CCR5 antagonist for patients who experience respiratory illness as a result of COVID-19 with potential for multiple therapeutic indications.
 
Status:  CytoDyn has initiated enrollment in a planned 75-patient Phase II trial for leronlimab treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild-to-moderate indications and under the same IND is also proceeding with its second COVID-19 clinical trial, a planned 342-patient Phase IIb/III study in critically ill COVID-19 patients, with the primary endpoint being the mortality rate at 14 days. CytoDyn and Longen China Group has said they will begin exploring leronlimab as a potential treatment for coronavirus as well as cancer.
 
4. Distributed Bio
 
Candidates: Antibodies bioengineered to fight COVID-19 
Type: Broadly neutralizing antibodies based on the company’s SuperHuman platform, which according to the company is the world’s most advanced computationally optimized human antibody library for antibody discovery.
 
Status:  The company is working to extract five SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and mutate them into 1 billion different types to see whether any of the antibodies bind to the virus that causes COVID-19.If a potential antibody is identified this month, it could be mass produced in August or September. 
 
5. ncyte and Novartis
 
Candidate: Jakafi® / Jakavi® (ruxolitinib)
Type: Janus kinase (JAK1/JAK2) inhibitor first approved by the FDA in 2011, with indications in polycythemia vera, myelofibrosis, and acute graft-versus-host disease. Marketed as Jakafi in the U.S. by Incyte, and as Jakavi outside the U.S. by Novartis.
 
Status: In the U.S., Incyte added, it intends to begin an open-label emergency Expanded Access Program (EAP) that will allow eligible patients with severe COVID-19 associated cytokine storm to receive Jakafi while it is being studied for that indication. The company added that it is increasing manufacturing efforts to respond to anticipated supply needs related to its COVID-19 studies. Outside the U.S., Novartis has established an international compassionate use program for eligible patients, and said it is working to manage the anticipated increase in COVID-19 related requests for Jakavi without interrupting access for patients using the drug for its authorized indications.
 
6. Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology
 
Candidate: INO-4800 
Type: DNA vaccine
 
Status:  Last month, Inovio joined biologics CDMO Ology Bioservices on March 24 to announce that Ology was awarded an $11.9 million Department of Defense (DoD) contract to work with Inovio on DNA technology transfer to rapidly manufacture INO-4800 and deliver it to DoD for upcoming clinical trials. Inovio said it received a $5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate testing and scale-up of CELLECTRA® 3PSP, a hand-held smart device for the intradermal delivery of INO-4800. Inovio is partnering with Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology on a Phase I trial in China in parallel with the company’s clinical development efforts in the U.S. to develop INO-4800 as a coronavirus treatment. Inovio will develop INO-4800 through Phase I testing in the U.S., and has launched preclinical testing for clinical product manufacturing. INO-4800 development is also supported by a $9-million grant from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
 
7. Janssen Pharmaceutical Cos. (J&J) and BARDA
 
Candidates: Lead vaccine candidate and two backups to prevent COVID-19 
Type: Not specified, but based on vaccine constructs created and tested by J&J with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), part of Harvard Medical School, using Janssen’s AdVac^®&n