• Australian Scientists Conduct Milestone Lab Trials.

News & Views

Australian Scientists Conduct Milestone Lab Trials.

May 04 2020

Scientists in Australia have been begun tests on two potential coronavirus vaccines supplied by Oxford University (UK) and US company Inovio Pharmaceuticals which have been cleared for animal testing by the World Health Organisation.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), which said its tests would be the first comprehensive pre-clinical trials of the vaccines to use an animal model, acknowledged that the speed and level of global co-operation that led to this stage had been unprecedented.

"Normally it takes about one-to-two years to get to this point and we've in fact shortened that to a period of a couple of months," said Dr Rob Grenfell from the CSIRO.

One option, developed by the University of Oxford, is a vector vaccine. It uses a "defective" virus to introduce the proteins of the coronavirus to the immune system and induce a response.

"But they're not able to replicate... so there's no possibility of becoming ill through this particular vaccine," said Prof Trevor Drew, director of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Victoria, where the testing is being carried out on ferrets, which contract the virus in a similar way to humans.

The first results from the animal tests could be revealed as early as June, the scientists said. If successful, the vaccines could then be moved into clinical trials that could be conducted at labs elsewhere.

Further information at www.csiro.au


Digital Edition

LMUK 49.7 Nov 2024

November 2024

News - Research & Events News   - News & Views Articles - They’re burning the labs... Spotlight Features - Incubators, Freezers & Cooling Equipment - Pumps, Valves & Liquid Hand...

View all digital editions

Events

MEDICA 2024

Nov 11 2024 Dusseldorf, Germany

FILTECH

Nov 12 2024 Cologne, Germany

Intech

Nov 12 2024 Tel Aviv, Israel

analytica China

Nov 18 2024 Shanghai, China

Pharma Asia

Nov 20 2024 Karachi, Pakistan

View all events