Amid the coronavirus pandemic, drugmakers and academic researchers are working on at least 35 potential vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.
More than 40 life sciences companies are working on drugs to treat virus symptoms or diagnostic tests, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Five updates on the efforts to create a COVID-19 vaccine:
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston is working with Johnson & Johnson to create a vaccine for the new coronavirus, The Boston Globe reported. They said they hope to begin testing the vaccine on humans in the fall.
- Inovio Pharmaceuticals plans to begin testing its vaccine on humans next month and publish the results of the trial this fall, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Moderna is already recruiting volunteers to test its vaccine in the Seattle area, the Journal reported. However, federal health officials say the vaccine is still at least a year away from coming to the market.
- Emergent BioSolutions said it is working to develop treatments for COVID-19 made from the blood of patients who have recovered from the disease, according to the Journal.
- Eli Lilly is working with AbCellera Biologics, a Vancouver, Canada-based biosciences company, to develop a potential treatment and prevention for COVID-19, the Indianapolis Star reported. The companies are trying to find the antibodies that will disarm the virus that causes COVID-19. They said they hope to start testing therapies on patients in the next four months.