Keeping Pace With Mutating Viruses

A surge in the pandemic has forced the pharma industry to deliver a wide-spectrum vaccine to fight mutation-prone SARS-CoV-2, pledging to prevent future outbreaks. WHO states that the most extensive vaccination campaign in history is providing prophylactic results by delivering more than 12 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, protecting 60 per cent of the global population as of June 2022. Now the next-generation COVID-19 vaccines are countering the challenge of enhancing the immune response to tackle the emerging COVID-19 variants. It is therefore imperative to remain vigilant and upgrade vaccine candidates to emerging virus sublineages. In order to gain a competitive position in the market, vaccine manufacturers are investing in advanced platform technologies. Let's take a closer look at some of these leading vaccines approved in APAC as broad spectrum virucide inhibitors.

- Hithaishi C Bhaskar

As of July 2022, uncertainty persists as waves of SARS-CoV-2 continue to emerge. Over time, new virus variants arise and threaten to reduce the impact of existing vaccine efforts. There is a clear need for potential strategies to tackle emerging variants, and to protect populations against the future pandemic.

Over the past 30 months, the development of the vaccine has been a prolonged and arduous process for the biopharma industry across the globe. The companies are investing in large production infrastructures with widespread distribution and are steadfast in bringing the COVID-19 vaccine to market. The global industry stakeholders share next-generation vaccine platforms by leveraging the capabilities and long-standing expertise of innovation to overcome the competitive barriers. An enviable network of alliances has emerged among global firms and a wide range of government and regional commercial partners, and the Asia Pacific (APAC) region is not an exception.

As of July 20, 2022, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has granted 11 vaccines an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) for global usage. Around 40 vaccines have been approved, authorised, licensed, granted Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) by at least one country, or made available for use outside of clinical trials via any pathway by a regulatory agency, a national authority, or another entity. As per the records, at least one COVID-19 vaccine of any type has been approved in 197 countries. Further, there are 753 vaccine trials currently active with 220 vaccine candidates in 78 countries.

Dodgy Omicron