The U.S. based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, in cooperation with German drugmaker BioNTech, is working on a coronavirus vaccine. Interestingly, the experimental vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech contains genetic material called messenger RNA or mRNA. As a reminder, the mRNA is a genetic code that tells cells what to build.
However, Pfizer and BioNTech are not alone when it comes to developing a coronavirus vaccine. There are more than 100 vaccines under development. This information came from the World Health Organization.
Another leading company working on a coronavirus vaccine is Moderna. The vaccine created by this biotech company is expected to enter a late-stage trial later in July, pending the results from its mid-stage trial. Specifically, the vaccine created by Moderna could be available for public distribution by the end of 2020.
Pfizer and coronavirus pandemic
It is not a small task to develop an effective vaccine as it is a very complex process. In fact, this process requires time, money, and human resources. The trial evaluated 45 people. Each person received 10, 30, or 100 microgram doses of the vaccine or a placebo. Based on the information provided by the company, one of its four coronavirus vaccine candidates produced neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe is necessary to build immunity to the virus, in all participants who received two of the 10 or 30 microgram doses after 28 days.
It is worth mentioning that findings from this trial conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech were posted in a paper released on MedRXiv.
It is not surprising that companies around the world are working hard to create a vaccine. The coronavirus pandemic created a lot of problems for the economy. Countries are struggling to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It will take time to get the economy back on track.
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