Imperial College London Begins Human Trials Of COVID-19 Vaccine

Imperial College London begins human trials of COVID-19 vaccine

Photo: imperial.ac.uk

In the first phase of the trial, 300 volunteers will receive two doses of the vaccine, which will increase the level of antibodies in the body.

Previously, the vaccine has been successfully tested on animals, according to Imperial College London. If at the first stage the drug proves its effectiveness and safety, in further clinical trials the number of volunteers will be increased to 6,000 people.

The difference with this vaccine is that it does not use the virus itself, but synthetic strands of genetic material that are injected into the muscles, which stimulates the body to create copies of the coronavirus protein, which produce immune system defenses.

Professor Robin Shattock, who led the research, said that in the future this type of vaccine will be used to protect people at risk, as well as to provide an opportunity to relax quarantine restrictions. According to the scientist, animal trials of the vaccine have shown "encouraging signs of an effective immune response."

Note that this is the second potential vaccine created by scientists in the UK, which will be tested in humans. Earlier, scientists at the University of Oxford announced large-scale trials of the drug in humans involving 10,000 volunteers. Clinical research at Imperial College will be supported by government funding of £ 41, with an additional £ 5 million coming from charitable donations.

Currently, about a dozen potential vaccines against coronavirus are undergoing clinical trials in humans around the world. The largest pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNtech, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna, Sanofi and CanSino Biologics are participating in the race for the vaccine. In Russia, the development of a vaccine is carried out by the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. N.F. Gamalei. Today, the center announced the start of clinical trials on volunteers together with the RF Ministry of Defense - in the coming days, the vaccine will be administered to the first group of military personnel who agreed to participate in the study.