DEMANDS for Covid-19 vaccines are outweighing supply with biotech companies struggling to increase production and more affluent countries stocking up their stock. It is against this scenario that Asian countries are scrambling to secure vaccines.
Looks like it is time to shift our focus temporarily from food security to vaccine security.
However, many Asian countries are waking up to this dire call by launching their own vaccines. Strong R&D is being rolled out to have a home-grown vaccine. Let us have a bird’s eye view of the status of vaccines in Asia.
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”block” ihc_mb_who=”unreg” ihc_mb_template=”3″ ]Let us zoom into Southeast Asia or ASEAN. We do have movers and shakers of vaccines in our region. Thailand is also a major manufacturer, while Indonesia and Singapore are major exporters. In fact, the latter two are the world’s top 20 vaccine exporters. With this experience and expertise, Indonesia and Thailand are leading the race to develop locally produced vaccines. Vietnam has also joined the race.
Indonesia’s Eijkman Institute has succeeded in amplifying the gene coding for the Spike (S) and Nucleocapsid (N) proteins from the SARS-CoV-2.
Made in Vietnam the NanoCovax vaccine has made its way into WHO’s official website as a Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The second phase of human trials for NanoCovax has begun and the vaccine is expected to be available by the fourth quarter of 2022.
Thailand will not have one but two locally developed vaccines. One from its famed Chulalongkorn University, ChulaCov19, which will be initially being produced in California in the late stages by Thai company Bionet Asia. The other potential vaccines is by Mahidol University. Both are scheduled for human trials soon.
Outside Southeast Asia, China rolled out one vaccine and more are expected. The Beijing-based pharmaceutical company Sinovac developed CoronaVac. Sinopharm, a Chinese state-owned company is developing two Covid-19 vaccines. The vaccine from CanSino Biologics is in phase three clinical trials. Anhui Zhifei Longcom is another company in this race and its vaccine has entered phase three trials.
India’s indigenous vaccine was developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV). Covaxin is already in use in India.
Will there be other countries joining this race to achieve vaccine security? To me, it is not only an opportunity to end the pandemic but to boost local R&D and take on the acid test to show one’s worth in collaboration and scientific vigour. The effort also puts to good use of all the resources a country has – both human and infrastructure.
I can only heave a sigh of anticipation![/ihc-hide-content]
