COVID-19 drug development is the research process to develop a preventative vaccine or therapeutic prescription drug that would alleviate the severity of 2019-20 coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Internationally as of April 2020, some 200 drug companies, biotechnology firms, university research groups, and health organizations were involved in stages of vaccine or drug development. As of 9 April, there were 115 vaccine candidates and 116 potential therapies for COVID-19 disease in development.
The World Health Organization (WHO), European Medicines Agency (EMA), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Chinese government and drug manufacturers were coordinating with academic and industry researchers to speed development of vaccines, antiviral drugs, and post-infection therapies.
The International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the WHO recorded 536 clinical studies to develop post-infection therapies for COVID-19 infections,with numerous established antiviral compounds for treating other infections under clinical research to be repurposed.
In March, the WHO initiated the “SOLIDARITY Trial” in 10 countries, enrolling thousands of people infected with COVID-19 to assess treatment effects of four existing antiviral compounds with the most promise of efficacy. A dynamic, systematic review was established in April 2020 to track the progress of registered clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutic drug candidates.
Vaccine and drug development is a multistep process, typically requiring more than five years to assure safety and efficacy of the new compound.In February 2020, the WHO said it did not expect a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 – the causative virus for COVID-19 – to become available in less than 18 months and conservative estimates of time needed to prove a safe, effective vaccine is one year (early 2021).Several national regulatory agencies, such as EMA and FDA, approved procedures to expedite clinical testing.
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
