University of Pittsburgh Scientists Announce 'Possible Vaccine' Against COVID-19
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh’s medical school announced the discovery of a “potential vaccine” against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in a new paper published on April 2 in eBioMedicine, a journal published by The Lancet.
“Our ability to rapidly develop this vaccine was a result of scientists with expertise in diverse areas of research working together with a common goal,” said co-senior author Louis Falo, professor and chair of dermatology at the school.
The research team said it was able to act quickly to develop the potential vaccine because of its previous experience researching SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2014. "We knew exactly where to fight this new virus,” said co-senior author Andrea Gambotto, associate professor of surgery at the school.
The researchers are now in the process of applying for investigational new drug (IND) approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Testing in patients would typically require at least a year and probably longer,” Falo said. “This particular situation is different from anything we’ve ever seen, so we don’t know how long the clinical development process will take." Credit: University of Pittsburgh via Storyful
