Coronavirus vaccine: Zydus, Serum Institute among 43 global firms in race

While the whole world is battling a pandemic of unprecedented proportions, 43 pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide have launched their biggest ever research and development initiative to find the vaccine that can contain the novel coronavirus. Among these pharmaceutical majors are India’s Zydus Cadila and Serum Institute. Experts believe it will take 12 to 18 months before a vaccine is available. Normally, a vaccine candidate, after clearing pre-clinical trials with small and large animals, have to go through three phases of clinical or human trials to prove its safety and efficacy. These human trials are done on different populations in varied geographies and have to create huge data during their 3 phases for regulatory sanctions. In emergencies, like the coronavirus outbreak, fast-tracking is possible, but the vaccine candidate still have to go through various trials before being launched in open market. Typically, only one in ten experimental vaccines make it all the...