16. Future Pipeline and Global Outlook

The Vax Files

Nearly two years after Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan, the world is still very much in a pandemic. The toughest phase may behind us, but we are still faced with the possibility of new variants of concern, waning immunity and vaccine evasion. As first-generation vaccines start to show their weaknesses, next-generation vaccines are becoming more and more important. While hundreds of vaccines are in the pipeline, there are a few frontrunners and other interesting candidates that might be meaningful additions to our Covid vaccine armamentarium. Experts discuss the current status of a number of protein-based vaccines including candidates from Novavax, Vaxine, Clover, GSK/Sanofi and others. DNA vaccines are also still an attraction with the first authorization for Zydus Cadila in India. Other mRNA vaccines might offer meaningful differentiation, while vaccines targeting the S and N protein might also have greater importance when it comes to tackling future variants. While nasal and oral vaccines seem appealing for the prevention of infection and transmission, they also have some inevitable hurdles to overcome and are still a long way off materializing. Experts discuss future manufacturing hurdles that will require greater global collaboration to achieve future vaccine production and distribution goals. Finally, experts discuss the current global status so far and forecasts for exiting the pandemic state and entering a livable endemic.

Expert Guests:

-- Reynald Castaneda is the Clinical Trials Editor of GlobalData Media in London, covering drug development for investors and the pharmaceutical industry.

-- Dr Maria Elena Bottazzi is the Associate Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics (Tropical Medicine) and Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, US. She is a leading expert in vaccine development and tropical diseaes.

-- Dr Deborah Fuller is a Professor of Microbiology at The University of Washington School of Medicine. A veteran vaccinologist and researcher, she has been working on vaccine development for the last 30 years with specific research around DNA and RNA technologies.

-- Dr Shabir Madhi is Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is also the co-founder of the African Leadership Initiative for Vaccinology Expertise (ALIVE).

-- Dr Nikolai Petrovsky is Professor of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia and vice-president and secretary-general of the International Immunomics Society. He is the founder of vaccine biotech, Vaxine, which has a protein based vaccine for Covid-19 in its pipeline.

-- Dr Monica Gandhi is Professor of Medicine and Associate Division Chief (Clinical Operations/Education) of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at University California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital.

-- Dr Prashant Yadav is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development and Affiliate Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD. Yadav has with governments and global organizations to improve medical product supply chains. Previous roles include Strategy Leader-Supply Chain at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Chair of the Market Dynamics Advisory Group of the Global Fund.

-- Dr. Nadia Sam-Agudu is Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Immunology/Infectious Diseases) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Senior Technical Advisor at the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria. She conducts public health and implementation research in maternal and child health, with a focus on HIV and other major infectious diseases in African countries.