Race for a coronavirus vaccine ----------------------------------------- Large-scale clinical trials of an RNA coronavirus vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German partner BioNTech show the vaccine is more than 90% effective and has no serious safety concerns ----------------------------------------- RNA vaccine: Messenger RNA (mRNA) is made from DNA template in lab – mRNA contains recipe to produce antigen of virus ----------------------------------------- Antigen: Vaccine is injected – mRNA enters human cells and produces antigens which stimulate immune system to fight disease ----------------------------------------- DNA template Synthetic mRNA Antibodies Coronavirus ----------------------------------------- VACCINES IN DEVELOPMENT Preclinical testing: Vaccine tested on cells and given to animals such as mice, hamsters or monkeys to see if it produces immune response Phase 1 trials: Vaccine given to small group of people to test safety, dosage and confirm it stimulates immune system Phase 2 trials: Vaccine given to hundreds of volunteers split into groups, for safety and immune system response Phase 3 trials: Vaccine given to thousands of people. Tested for effectiveness and evidence of rare side effects missed in earlier studies Approval: National regulators review trial results and decide whether to approve vaccine ----------------------------------------- 87 87 preclinical vaccines in active development, including mRNA vaccine developed by French company Sanofi and U.S.-based Translate Bio 38 Vaccines in Phase 1, or combined Phase 1/2, include trials in 19 countries: Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and U.S. 11 6 Phase 3 includes U.S. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines; Russia’s Gamaleya and British AstraZeneca adenovirus vaccines 6 Six vaccines approved for limited use in China, Russia and United Arab Emirates ----------------------------------------- Sources: Reuters, Pfizer, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers © GRAPHIC NEWS