Mar 06, 2020 12:00:00

Looking for Healthy Volunteers for Clinical Trial of World's First New Coronavirus Vaccine

Pharmaceutical companies are developing vaccines to combat the

new type of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) , which is spreading worldwide. Moderna Therapeutics , a U.S.-based biotechnology company, has already sent a vaccine it has developed to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) , and is reported to start clinical trials by the end of April 2020. I am.

Safety and Immunogenicity Study of 2019-nCoV Vaccine (mRNA-1273) to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection-Full Text View-ClinicalTrials.gov
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04283461

mRNA Coronavirus Vaccine Study: KPWHRI
https://corona.kpwashingtonresearch.org/

First coronavirus vaccine trial in the US is recruiting volunteers | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/us-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-recruiting.html

ClinicalTrials.gov, a database that provides information on clinical trials and clinical research in the United States, contains information on clinical trials that are currently investigating the safety and immunogenicity of the 2019-nCoV vaccine. In clinical trials, a total of 45 healthy men or non-pregnant women aged 18 to 55 years old will be actually administered vaccines to evaluate immune response induction and side effects.

Forty-five subjects will be divided into three groups, each with a different dose of vaccine, and will receive a total of three doses of vaccine at 28-day intervals. Following the administration, the follow-up will be continued for almost a year, and the volunteers will need to make a total of 11 face-to-face research visits during the study period. The volunteers will receive $ 100 (about 16,000 yen) for each visit, a total of $ 1100 (about 106,000 yen). According to ClinicalTrials.gov, the clinical trial is expected to end on June 1, 2021.

According to a report from

Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), a platform for recruiting volunteers to participate in vaccine clinical trials, the 2019-nCoV vaccine developed by Moderna Therapeutics includes the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) itself. Is not included. Vaccines measles ( Measles ) Unlike vaccines developed for viral infectious diseases such as, etc., it does not use weak or dead viruses as a base.

Instead of using viruses, new vaccines contain genetically-generated messenger RNA (mRNA) , a genetic material that plays a role in synthesizing proteins according to genetic information. The artificial mRNA contained in the vaccine seems to encourage the production of 'proteins on the surface of the new coronavirus' in the recipient's body.

Eventually, the vaccine mRNA is degraded and removed from the recipient's body. On the other hand, it has been described that the human immune system produces antibodies in response to this newly produced protein, so that vaccination can provide immunity against the new coronavirus.

While vaccine development is advancing, there is no guarantee that a new coronavirus vaccine will be low enough for everyone to buy.

Alex Weather , Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States , said, `` We want to work hard to make vaccines cheap, but vaccine development requires private sector investment, so we can control prices. No. The top priority is getting vaccines and therapies and does not include price control, 'a comment from the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee was reported .

Meanwhile, Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna Therapeutics, believes that the developed vaccines should be offered at low prices. 'We are very aware that this is a public health problem, so if a vaccine is approved, pricing will be deeply considered. Price higher than vaccines for other respiratory tract infections It should not, 'said Bansel.