Russia, the United States and China have Developed New Coronavirus Vaccines, Which One is Stronger?

Russia announced on the 11th that its first new crown vaccine has been licensed by the country's Ministry of Health. This news shocked the world. Public opinion is not only surprised by Russia's rapid development of the new coronavirus vaccine, but also questioned because the vaccine has not yet been registered for Phase III clinical trials. The tremendous response of the international community to the vaccine has also shown a huge global demand for the new coronavirus vaccine. Some commentators stated that this is the most urgently needed vaccine in history.

Global Inventory of New Coronavirus Vaccine Development Progress

On the 6th of this month, Michael Ryan, the head of the World Health Organization’s health emergency project, said that there are currently 165 vaccines in the trial stage around the world, of which 69 are recombinant protein vaccines, 42 are viral vector vaccines, 37 are nucleic acid vaccines, and 14 is inactivated vaccine, and three are attenuated live vaccine. Of the 165 vaccines, 26 have entered clinical trials. Of the six vaccines entering the Phase III clinical trial, three are from China.

According to data released by the World Health Organization, as of the 10th of this month, China's three vaccines that have entered Phase III clinical trials were respectively provided by China National Biopharmaceuticals, Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, China National Bio-Beijing Institute of Biological Products, and China Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Viral Disease Prevention and Control Institute, Beijing Kexing Biological Research and Development. According to the "Global Times" reporter, the new crown inactivated vaccines developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products are developed simultaneously, and are basically the same in terms of technical path, safety, and effectiveness.

According to public reports, China's bio-new coronavirus inactivated vaccine has launched Phase III clinical trials in the UAE in July, and 15,000 people are expected to participate. Beijing Kexing's new coronavirus inactivated vaccine launched a Phase III clinical trial in Brazil on July 21. Brazil’s Sao Paulo Governor Doria said that the Phase III clinical trial was launched at the Sao Paulo Clinical Hospital and the preliminary results are expected to be announced within 90 days.

According to media reports such as Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and China’s Beijing Kexing Biological Products Company began a Phase III clinical trial on August 11. The research team is recruiting 1,620 volunteers aged 18 to 59 to participate the tests.

Although not included in the above statistics of the WHO, according to domestic media reports on the 12th, the international clinical trials of the recombinant new coronavirus vaccine (adenovirus vector) developed by Academician Chen Wei's team in conjunction with CanSino Bio are progressing in an orderly manner, but did not mention the specific location for the clinical trial. However, according to Reuters, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced on the 11th that the Mexican government has signed agreements with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals of the United States, Cansino and Watson Biotech. These companies will conduct the new coronavirus in Mexico. In the Phase III clinical trial of the vaccine, Cansino and Watson may also establish a vaccine production base in Mexico. Ebrard said that the Mexican Food and Drug Administration has approved the clinical trial, which will be conducted between September this year and January next year.

In addition, the United States, United Kingdom and Germany are also in the first echelon of vaccine development. Moderna's mRNA Covid-19 vaccine is the fastest vaccine to enter Phase III clinical trials in the United States. It is currently undergoing trials worldwide, with the goal of mass production by the end of this year. On the 11th local time, US President Trump announced an agreement with Moderna to purchase 100 million doses of the new coronavirus vaccine. In addition, the mRNA vaccine jointly developed by the German biotech company BioNTech and Pfizer Inc. of the United States also started a Phase III clinical trial at the end of July, and the number of testers is expected to reach 30,000.

In addition, the AZD1222 recombinant new coronavirus vaccine (adenovirus vector) vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals is also attracting attention. It is currently undergoing Phase II and Phase III clinical trials in the United Kingdom. Participants are expected to exceed 10,000 and will be conducted in South Africa. Phase III clinical trial.

According to the official announcement of Russia, the country's registered new coronavirus vaccine will also start Phase III clinical trials from the 12th.

Will the Vaccine be Widely Vaccinated Before the End of the Year at the Earliest?

Many vaccines around the world have entered the final sprint stage of Phase III clinical trials, coupled with the optimistic news from Russia, people are even more looking forward to the relevant new coronavirus vaccine as early as this year.

Yang Xiaoming, chairman of China National Biotechnology Co., Ltd., said in an interview on the 11th that from the data currently obtained, the vaccine developed by the company is safe and effective. It is undergoing Phase III clinical trials and is progressing very fast, better than expected. In the middle and late stages of the second half of this year, and early next year at the latest, inactivated vaccines should be available nationwide and globally. The industrial workshop has now passed the safety inspection.

The German company BioNTech recently issued a statement stating that the vaccine jointly developed by the company and Pfizer hopes to seek regulatory approval as early as October this year and provide 100 million doses of vaccine by 2020. Moderna also predicts that the vaccine developed by the company will have the safety and efficacy Phase III clinical trial results in October.

However, Michael Ryan, the head of the World Health Organization's health emergency project, emphasized that the entry of the vaccine into Phase III clinical trials does not mean that the development is about to succeed. This only means that the vaccine can be put into more healthy people for testing to see whether the vaccine can protect them from infection. Up to now, vaccine research and development have mainly focused on safety, whether it can induce effective immunity, etc., and more research on Phase III clinical trials is needed. In addition, there are currently a variety of new coronavirus vaccines covering different research and development paths, which all contribute to vaccine development.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly mentioned that the speed of the development of the new coronavirus vaccine is unprecedented. The World Health Organization hopes to provide about 2 billion new coronavirus vaccines by the end of next year.

Phase III Clinical Trials, Inevitable Steps

Regarding the current global vaccine development progress, Chen Xi, associate professor of Yale University’s School of Public Health, said in an interview on the 12th that China, the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries’ competition in the field of vaccine development is a good thing. The more options that come are good for mankind. Chen Xi said that there has never been a vaccine manufacturer in the world that can produce vaccines that meet global needs. The decentralized production under competition can be reduced to zero, making the feasibility of large-scale vaccination enhanced.

Regarding the Russian new coronavirus vaccine that has received much attention, Chen Xi analyzed that this vaccine can only prove to be safe in small-scale populations, but cannot prove its safety in large-scale populations and whether the vaccine is safe or not. To produce antibodies and be effective, there should be no rush to mass production and large-scale trials in humans. Large-scale Phase III clinical trials are essential.

Chen Xi said that the current clinical trials of volunteers are biased towards young adults with good health, and the Phase III clinical trials will involve more age groups, among which groups with weaker health are the ones who need the vaccine most, and are also able to produce effective antibodies against the vaccine to the most challenging groups. These weaker groups often have many adverse reactions and need to adjust the dose in the third phase of the clinical trial. Otherwise, large-scale side effects or casualties may occur after popularization.

An expert in the research field of new biological drugs in Germany told us on the 12th that at present, in the context of the global pandemic of the new crown virus, China, the United States, Europe, and Russia all attach great importance to the research and development of new coronavirus vaccines and have invested a lot of money and resources. Russia announced that it has carried out the world’s first national registration of a new coronavirus vaccine. It may be that there are certain differences in the standards and procedures for the registration of new coronavirus vaccines in various countries, but it does not mean that Russia is at the forefront of new coronavirus vaccine research and development. 

'According to my personal judgment, China and the United States should still be the fastest in the field of new coronavirus vaccine research and development. At present, many biotech companies in the two countries have entered the Phase III clinical trial phase."

WHO spokesperson Tariq Yasarevich also stated on the 11th that the pre-qualification of any vaccine includes a rigorous review and evaluation of all necessary safety and effectiveness data. Yasarevic said that WHO has implemented pre-qualification procedures for vaccines and medicines. Manufacturers require pre-qualification from the World Health Organization because this is a sign of quality assurance. In order to achieve this goal, all safety and effectiveness data collected in clinical trials need to be reviewed and evaluated. The WHO will do this for any vaccine candidate.