No vaccines have been approved for the prevention of COVID-19. There are currently more than 169 candidates undergoing development and 26 in the clinical development stage according to WHO. An ideal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 would be effective after one or two vaccinations; which would protect target populations such as older adults and those with comorbidities, including immunocompromised individuals; which would confer protection for a minimum of 6 months; and would reduce onward transmission of the virus to contacts.
Top ten Vaccines in later stages of Development
| SI. No | Candidate | Mechanism | Sponsor | Trial Phase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ad5-nCoV | Recombinant vaccine (adenovirus type 5 vector) | CanSino Biologics | Phase 3 |
| 2 | AZD1222 | Replication-deficient viral vector vaccine (adenovirus from chimpanzees) | The University of Oxford, AstraZeneca, IQVIA; Serum Institute of India | Phase 3 |
| 3 | CoronaVac | Inactivated vaccine (formalin with alum adjuvant) | Sinovac | Phase 3 |
| 4 | mRNA-1273 | mRNA-based vaccine | Moderna | Phase 3 |
| 5 | No name announced | Inactivated vaccine | Wuhan Institute of Biological products; China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) | Phase 3 |
| 6 | Bacillus Calmette- Guerin (BCG) vaccine | Live-attenuated vaccine | University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Radboud University Medical Center; Faustman Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital | Phase 2/3 |
| 7 | BNT162 | mRNA-based vaccine | Pfizer, BioNTech | Phase 2/3 |
| 8 | NVX-CoV2373 | Nanoparticle vaccine | Novavax | Phase 2b |
| 9 | Covaxin | Inactivated vaccine | Bharat Biotech; National Institute of Virology | Phase 2 |
| 10 | No name announced | Recombinant vaccine | Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical, Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences | Phase 2 |
