Developing a new vaccine typically takes many years, but pharmaceutical companies are trying to push one out in the next 12-18 months.
In a series of breathtaking multibillion-dollar bets by vaccine makers, possible candidates to fight the new coronavirus are being prepared for production across the globe, before it’s even known whether any of them will work.
“I think the goal of 18 months is one that will be very, very difficult to achieve," said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “But it just may be our moon shot.” the Food and Drug Association would have to speed up its normal approval process, fast-tracking clinical trials and coordinating regulatory processes.
The company has started ramping its production capacity to produce millions of vaccine doses by the end of the year – long before it knows which, if any, will pan out, the company told USA TODAY. “At risk” means CEPI is taking on all the financial costs, all the legal liability and the clinical trial costs, with no guarantee of a market.
Vaccine manufacturing and production even in normal times is dicey. The rates of return are low and outbreaks can wane, pulling public attention and money away. That makes the decision to produce multiple vaccines before they’re tested all the more remarkable. No one has ever developed a vaccine for the common cold, which is often caused by different strains of the coronavirus. Attempts at a vaccine for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome led to animals getting sick. The SARS virus is closely related to the COVID-19 virus.
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