BRITAIN’S £20m FOR VIRUS VACCINE
■ Race to develop drug within weeks ■ Bug claims first death outside China
‘There can be no guarantee’
A VACCINE for coronavirus could be ready to test on patients in four months amid a global push by scientists backed by £20million from the British Government.
An ‘unprecedented’ target has been set to find a vaccine and start clinical trials by June, it is announced today.
The Government made its cash pledge to an international team of experts who specialise in speeding up the development of vaccines in response to major outbreaks around the world.
Scientists admit the timescale set by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is ‘extremely ambitious’ but say the global spread of coronavirus means the urgency is crucial.
The death toll within China’s borders has risen to more than 300 and the virus has claimed its first victim outside the country as it was reported a 44-year-old man from Wuhan had died in the Philippines.
The only two confirmed cases in the UK remain a student from York University and their relative, who fell ill at the Staycity apartment in the city and are now being treated at a specialist unit in Newcastle.
Another 264 people have tested negative, while officials from Public Health England are still trying to trace 385 people who flew to the UK on direct flights from Wuhan in China between January 10 and January 24.
Yesterday 11 more Britons were evacuated from China to spend a fortnight in quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital in the Wirral before returning home. They will be quarantined at the facility for 14 days along with the 83 people who were taken there last week.
As the funding for a vaccine was announced, Dr Richard Hatchett, chief executive of the Norwaybased CEPI, said: ‘We welcome the UK’s continued support and funding for our vital work, which comes at a crucial moment as the world races to respond to the emergence of a novel coronavirus.
‘The rapid global spread and unique epidemiological characteristics of the virus are deeply concerning. Our hope is that, with our partners, we can get an investigational vaccine from gene sequencing of the pathogen through to clinical testing in 16 weeks.’
Currently there is no protection against coronavirus, which has now infected more worldwide than the 2002 Sars epidemic.
But technology moves faster now, and the Chinese provided the DNA code for coronavirus early on in the outbreak. That led scientists worldwide to enter the race for a vaccine, with Professor Robin Shattock, head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London, saying he already has one with a ‘very good chance’ of being effective.
A vaccine is probably at least a year away from being widely available, but ‘phase one’ trials to check one for safety could be finished in around six months if the CEPI-funded scientists are successful.
Dr Hatchett warned: ‘This is an extremely ambitious timeline.
Indeed, it would be unprecedented in the field of vaccine development.
‘It is important to remember that even if we are successful – and there can be no guarantee – there will be further challenges to navigate before we can make vaccines more broadly available.’
CEPI is a global partnership between public, private and philanthropic organisations set up at Davos three years ago to prevent future epidemics, and receives funding from governments as well as charities and foundations such as the Wellcome Trust and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Announcing the £20million funding from the UK – which will also target other deadly diseases – Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: ‘Vaccines are our best defence against a host of deadly diseases, including coronavirus. The UK is a hub of world-leading and pioneering research, and it is vital we lead the way in developing new vaccines to target global threats with scientists from across the world.’
In total last night there were 14,557 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide, with 305 deaths. Countries as far apart as Japan,
the US, France and Germany have been affected. Pilots in protective suits were seen on board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight which evacuated 33 of its citizens from Wuhan on Saturday.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government was doing everything it could to help British nationals in China. However, some Foreign Office staff have been withdrawn and the British Consulate-General in Wuhan has been closed.
At the weekend Steffan Atherton, a British art teacher in the Chinese city of Fuzhou, posted a video of himself fighting tears during a phone call with the British Embassy in which he was told he could not be evacuated.
Mr Atherton, who has a newborn baby with his Peruvian wife Diana, held his head in his hands as he was told no flights were planned from the area.
He also posted a video of the abandoned streets, with red flags and a recorded message playing on a loop.
The World Health Organisation has classified the coronavirus outbreak as an international emergency and governments have been stepping up evacuation flights out of China.