Vienna. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there were tremendous opportunities for the numerous pharmaceutical companies and universities that pounced on developing Covid-19 vaccines. In the meantime, the tide has changed: The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner Biontech are preparing to introduce the first corona vaccination, which is already underway in Great Britain. Competitor Moderna is hot on their heels.
Dozens of drug companies lagging behind in development are now becoming disillusioned: the window for developing a successful vaccine could close before there are really many suppliers on the market. With the population beginning to be vaccinated, some stragglers may no longer be able to recruit enough volunteers for their studies. Those who are many months behind could be left out of the huge US market, which is usually also the most lucrative.
The problem for the stragglers is the high effectiveness of the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which is around 95 percent according to the company. It fuels hope that the world will soon have effective weapons to stop contagion.
While Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines offer excellent short-term protection, it is unclear whether this could wear off. You may also experience side effects such as headache and fatigue, especially after the second dose. This could enable second generation vaccines to provide better tolerated or longer lasting protection.
But: The extraordinary effectiveness of the vaccines of the first developers also raises the bar and narrows the circle of candidates who will be successful. Merck, Novavax and Sanofi and its partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and more than 200 other research teams, are also working on a corona vaccine. It wasn't until Friday that Sanofi and GSK suffered a setback with their vaccine.
Finding volunteers
It could take longer than expected for the vaccine to be approved. According to the first study results, the vaccine only produces an inadequate immune response in older people, who are particularly at risk from corona infection. Sanofi now plans to start another study in early 2021 and hopes to develop a more effective vaccine by the end of 2021.
One problem facing pharmaceutical companies is that it can be difficult to get volunteers to sign up for or stay in clinical trials. The challenge will get worse during the winter and early spring, as many may already have been vaccinated or have the prospect of being vaccinated.
After initial difficulties in recruiting enough test participants, Johnson & Johnson, for example, is now assuming that it will be able to present results in January. (Bloomberg)
