IMPERIAL COLLEGE
IMPERIAL College London is hot on Oxford’s heels with another promising vaccine candidate which is undergoing tests.
Their jab is based on a new approach which uses synthetic strands of genetic code called RNA, based on the virus’s genetic material.
Once injected into muscle, the RNA generates copies of itself and instructs the body’s cells to make a spike protein found on the outside of the virus.
Around 300 people are taking part in early trials, with a larger study of 6,000 planned for October.
Lead researcher Professor Robin Shattock said results from animal and lab trials were “promising” and he was “cautiously optimistic”. The team hopes their vaccine could be available in early 2021, if all goes to plan. The Imperial team started work on the vaccine at the end of January and had a candidate ready for testing in just two weeks – much faster than the three years it usually takes. However, Prof Shattock warned this week that speed was not everything.
He said: “Everybody is very obsessed about the ‘first’ vaccine, but the first may not be the best.
“What we need is a vaccine that works extremely well and is widely available.”
He also expressed fears that nationalism may hamper the hunt for a vaccine.
He added: “We need everybody working together so that we can have a globally available vaccine, rather than looking at nationalism over particular candidates.”
If trials show the vaccine is successful, production can be quickly scaled up as only a small amount of the vaccine is needed to deliver many doses.