Drug makers around the globe are moving at breakneck speed to advance their Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutic candidates. The race has made one thing clear: The path toward scientific progress will come with bumps in the road.
Case in point: AstraZeneca has put a large, Phase 3 study of its Covid-19 vaccine — being developed with the University of Oxford — on hold due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the United Kingdom.
Such a hold isn’t uncommon in clinical trials, and it’s not clear yet how long AstraZeneca’s will last. But the status of the company’s trial — and those of the many Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics currently in development — are being closely watched given the pressing need for new ways to bring the global pandemic under control.
Here’s a guide to some of the most talked-about efforts to treat or prevent coronavirus infection, with details on the science, history, and timeline for each endeavor (and we will update the tracker with any new developments). We’re looking at novel medicines, not repurposed drugs. (For more on some of the efforts to repurpose drugs, read this.) The below therapies and vaccines are sorted in order of how close they could be to approval, starting with a treatment in Phase 3 trials, followed by others in Phase 1 studies and then preclinical development. Approval, of course, would only come if they are proven safe and effective.
— Damian Garde