US Drugmaker Merck to Develop Coronavirus Vaccine in Collaboration IAVI

Last Tuesday, Merck (MRK) revealed its intentions to collaborate with IAVI, a nonprofit scientific organization to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Following the announcement, Merck shares went up nearly 3% during the premarket.

Merck recently decided to join the race of developing a potential COVID-19 vaccine amid other drugmakers such as Gilead Sciences, Moderna, and Regeneron, amongst others. Many of these drugmakers have put a hold on developing other drugs as they place utmost priority on developing a treatment for the coronavirus which has infected over 5.5 million people and killed 346,000 all across the world. Some of these drugmakers have begun clinical trials already, making steady progress.

While many drugmakers have indicated progress in their clinical trials, most experts still believe that it could take 12 to 18 months before an effective vaccine is developed. They have also warned that there could be a few challenges with logistics in delivering large amounts of doses on a global scale. It may take up to two years or more before the doses reach some countries.

Regarding their collaboration, Merck and IAVI said their vaccine candidate would be developed using the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus technology, the basis for its Ebola Zaire virus vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine candidate designed and engineered by IAVI, is currently in its preclinical development stage while clinical studies will start later this year.

Both organizations also added that if their vaccine candidate is approved they would work together to develop the vaccine and make it “accessible and affordable” globally. The plan was to “leverage experience,” both organizations said.

IAVI President and CEO Dr. Mark Feinberg said the rVSV-based vaccine would represent a “promising approach to combating the novel coronavirus pandemic.”

As a single entity, Merck has announced its plans to acquire Themis, a privately held company focused on the creation and development of vaccines and immune-modulation therapies for infectious diseases and cancer. The acquisition price was undisclosed. Once the deal is completed, Themis would become a fully owned subsidiary of Merck.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, last month, stressed the importance of making a vaccine globally accessible once it is ready. Saying that, “there should not be a divide between the haves and have-nots.”

While drugmakers are putting in much efforts to develop an effective vaccine, President Donald Trump has called for urgent development and distribution of vaccines by the end of 2020, in a project titled “Operation Warp Speed.”

Medical experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci have questioned the President’s project seeing that it could be well over 12 months before an effective vaccine will be developed.