hopefully one of these boys22 Jun 2020 22:10
Hears of the Nuvec delivery system
$1.2 billion to AstraZeneca
How this vaccine works: AstraZeneca is using an adenovirus as a delivery vehicle. Adenoviruses cause the common cold and other illnesses, but the AstraZeneca vaccine alters the adenovirus so it won’t cause harm. Inside the adenovirus, the scientists have tucked away genetic material that codes for the production of those red spikes. The virus is injected, and because of the inserted gene, your cells make the spikes. Your immune system then makes antibodies to the spikes.Status: The University of Oxford, which is partnering with AstraZeneca, recently began large-scale, Phase 3 human clinical trials in England on this vaccine. AstraZeneca plans to begin Phase 3 trials in August. Such trials are the last step before a vaccine maker seeks approval from regulators.History: Other vaccines have used this adenovirus technique, and while those vaccines have been studied in clinical trials, they’ve never been approved and put on the market.
$456 million to Johnson & Johnson
How this vaccine works: J&J’s vaccine also uses an adenovirus delivery vehicle.
Status: J&J expects to start Phase 3 clinical trials in September.
$430 million to Moderna
How this vaccine works: Remember those gumball machines you loved as a kid, the ones in restaurant lobbies? Sometimes right next to them there were machines that delivered little toys, like a tiny doll or a bouncy ball, and the toy came in a little plastic bubble. Insert the quarter and you get the toy delivered in the plastic bubble. Now imagine that this plastic bubble is made out of fat. That’s the delivery system for this vaccine. Instead of a toy, inside that hollow ball of fat is messenger RNA, or mRNA, which is a genetic recipe for making part of the red spike. The fat bubble knows where to deliver it. Your immune system then makes antibodies to the spikes.
Status: Moderna plans to start Phase 3 trials in July.
History: Other vaccines have used this technique, and while those vaccines have been studied in clinical trials, they’ve never been approved and put on the market.