Table 2.
The most promising Covid-19 vaccines currently under clinical trials.
| Name of Vaccine | Developer Country | Institute and Company | Mode of Action | Results to Date | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik V | Russia | The Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology | A viral vector vaccine that uses a weakened version of the common cold-causing adenovirus to introduce the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the body. | Researchers claim that the vaccine can induce strong antibody and cellular immune responses. However, published data on the clinical trials are not available yet. | [210,213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,222] |
| mRNA-1273 | USA | Moderna Therapeutics | An mRNA-based vaccine that mimics the coronavirus, thus training the immune system to recognize its presence. | Phase III clinical trials. Trials involving high risk and elderly showed that it is nearly 95% effective. | |
| BNT162b2 | USA | Pfizer and BioNTech (Germany) | A nucleoside-modified mRNA that encodes an optimized SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike protein antigen. It contains a piece of the spike protein that elicits an antibody response. | Patients demonstrated a favorable overall tolerability during phase I/II trials and induction of a favorable viral-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell response. Received temporary authorization from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on 2 December, 2020. On 8 December 2020 at 6.31 am local time in London, UK, 334 days after the first reported Covid-19 death in China, Margaret Keenan, 90, became the first person in the world to receive a clinically approved vaccine. | |
| AZD1222 | UK | The University of Oxford; AstraZeneca; IQVIA; Serum Institute of India | A non-replicating viral vector with the viral spike protein, which induces an immune response. | Currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. Phase III interim results, based on 131 cases, as declared via press release (23 November 2020) suggest that it can be up to 90% effective when a half dose is given, followed by a full dose one month later. | |
| Covaxin | India | Bharat Biotech; National Institute of Virology | An inactivated vaccine to trigger specific T-lymphocytes and neutralizing antibodies by the host’s immune system. | Currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. The participants of the clinical trials are reportedly healthy, adeno adverse impacts of the vaccine have been found to date. | |
| CoronaVac | China | Sinovac and Butanan (Brazil) | An inactivated vaccine that initiates an immune response without producing the disease. | Currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. Subjects in the phase II human trial produced antibodies with no severe adverse reactions. | |
| No name announced | China | Sinopharm and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products | An inactivated vaccine that is renderednon-infectious but retains enough surface proteins to set off an immune response. | Undergoing phase III clinical trials. Earlier trial phases have shown that the vaccine can trigger an antibody response with no serious adverse effects. | |
| JNJ-78436735 | USA | Johnson and Johnson | Non-replicating viral vector. Optimal Ad26 vector-based vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 | Currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. Initial data demonstrated that a single shot of the vaccine provided protection against SARS-CoV-2 in non-human primates. | |
| Ad5-nCoV | China | Cansino Biologics | A viral vector vaccine made using a weakened version of the adenovirus (with faulty replication mechanism) as a vehicle for introducing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the body. | Currently undergoing phase III clinical trials. Phase II trials showed that the vaccine produces significant immune responses in the majority of recipients after a single immunization. | |
| NVX-CoV2373 | USA | Novavax | It is a protein subunit vaccine made with full-length recombinant SARS-CoV-2 glycoprotein nanoparticles, adjuvated with Matrix M, which enhances immune response and stimulates high levels of neutralizing antibodies by increasing the rate of antigen-presentation in the local lymph nodes. | Currently under phase III clinical trials, this vaccine candidates demonstrated efficient binding with receptors targeted by the virus, which is a critical aspect of effective vaccine action. | |
| ZF2001 | China | Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical and Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences | It is an adjuvated recombinant protein subunit vaccine expressed in CHO cells. It probably elicits protective action against the virus by increasing the level of neutralizing antibody and IgG antibody. | Currently under phase III clinical trials, the vaccine candidate showed promising results during the earlier phases by generating immune response. |
Ad26: Adenovirus type 26; CD: Cluster of differentiation; CHO: Chinese hamster ovary; SARS-CoV-2: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.