A laboratory in San Diego is taking crucial steps to innovate a vaccine for treating coronavirus. Inovio Pharmaceuticals, a Pennsylvania-headquartered company, is making a vaccine to combat COVID-19. As per the latest reports, the viral disease outbreak has killed over 1,300 people across the world. Scientists at a San Diego lab assert it took them just 180-minutes or three hours to rise with an experimental vaccine for COVID-19. The lab aims to test the vaccine first in animals, and after that, they would have a trial on humans. If everything goes well, they hope to make them publicly available as soon as possible.
On January 9, Chinese researchers have had rolled out the gene sequence for the novel strain of coronavirus. Since then, scientists across the globe are making every possible effort to develop a vaccine. Inovio’s director of research and development, Dr. Trevor Smith, said they have an algorithm specially designed which also includes the DNA sequence. He added, the effort has enabled them to emerge with the vaccine in such a short time. Smith said it is something they have obtained training for, and the substructure is here, and the proficiency is inside the house. The pharmaceutical company has also functioned on vaccines for other harmful viruses like MERS, Zika, and Ebola.
In the previous month, Inovio has announced receiving a $9-million approval from the CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation) for developing coronavirus vaccine. Researchers anticipate that the vaccine will operate as a bit of biological software. It would instruct humans to initiate a targeted attack by means of antibodies and T-cells against the virus. Inovio’s Senior VP of R&D Dr. Kate Broderick noted the company has managed to develop a vaccine immediately after the Chinese government published DNA of the virus. As per the WHO, officials have discovered confirmed cases of COVID-19 in around 63,000 people. Even more, China has reported more than 250 new daily lethal cases and a rise in new everyday virus instances of 15,152.