Italy Claims World’s First COVID-19 Vaccine

The pressure is on the drug makers to develop coronavirusvaccines as the deadly disease shows no signs of stopping.

Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute ofAllergy and Infectious Diseases, said that it would take at least a year and ahalf to have a vaccine for coronavirus. But usually, a vaccine takes about fiveto 15 years to come to the market, according to Jon Andrus, an adjunctprofessor of global vaccinology and vaccine policy at the Milken Institute ofPublic Health at George Washington University.

However, with the health crisis that the world is in,experts around the world are racing to create a vaccine that could finally puta stop on this pandemic. In Italy, they are claiming that they have finallymade the world's first coronavirus vaccine.

According to the tests carried out at Rome'sinfectious-disease Spallanzani Hospital, an Italian coronavirus vaccine hasantibodies generated in mice that work on human cells.

After testing the vaccine, they found that it hasneutralized the virus in human cells, a first since the race for a coronavirusvaccine begun in the world, said Luigi Aurisicchio, the CEO of Takis, a firmdeveloping the medication.

He told the Italian news agency ANSA that so far, this isthe most advanced stage of testing of a candidate vaccine created in Italy.Human tests are expected to begin in summer, he added.

He further explains that Takis is exploring more interestingtechnological platforms with an American drug company, LineaRx.

The company is currently working hard for a vaccine comingfrom Italian research, with an all-Italian and innovative technology, tested inItaly, which will be made available for everyone once testing is completed. Forthis research to succeed, they need the support not only from their governmentbut as well as international institutions and partners who might want to extendtheir hand to help speed up the process.

"This is not a competition. If we join our forces andskills together, we can all win against coronavirus," said Aurisicchio.

The scientists used mice in testing their vaccine. Justafter a single vaccination, the mice developed antibodies that block the virusfrom infecting the human cells. Researchers chose 2 of the five vaccinecandidates with the best results after observing them.

They first isolated the serum from the antibody-rich blood,then analyzed it in the virology laboratory of the Spallanzani Institute. Thenext step for the scientists is to understand how long the immune response willlast.

All of the vaccine candidates currently being developed arebased on the genetic material of DNA protein "spike." The vaccinecandidate uses the so-called "electroporation" technique to help thembreak into the cells and activate the immune system. Researchers believe thatthis makes their vaccine especially effective for generating functionalantibodies against "spike" protein in the lung cells, which are themost vulnerable to the virus.

Dr. Emanuele Marra from Takis explained that the immunity generatedby most of the five vaccine candidates affects the virus. The scientists expectbetter results on their next trial. He added that the vaccine candidates couldadapt to any COVID-19 evolutions and its possible mutations.