Vaccine development for COVID-19 is a global race against time. Many public and private organizations are working to develop a vaccine, using different approaches like mRNA, DNA, and viral vectors. Malaysia is also involved through collaboration between IMR, MVP and TIDREC to test a vaccine based on previous coronavirus research. The country is also participating in international solidarity trials of potential drug treatments. Locally, blood plasma from recovered patients is being analyzed for antibodies and may help treat other patients. While plasma therapy shows promise, more controlled studies are still needed to confirm efficacy and safety. The development of an effective vaccine remains a high priority in battling the pandemic.

1. Vaccine development for
COVID-19
Rohimah Mohamud, PhD
Immunology Department, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Ibnu Sina's Medical Charity Organisation of Malaysia
(Pertubuhan Amal Perubatan Ibnu Sina Malaysia- PAPISMA)
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Online Seminar COVID-19 Biomolecular and Bioethics Aspect Friday 17 April 2020

2. Prevention is better than cure
"If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do
not enter it; but if the plague outbreaks out in a place
while you are in it, do not leave that place.”
Volume 7, Book 71, Number 624
Sahih Bukhari
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3. • There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-
approved vaccines or therapies for the disease
• on March 29 granted an emergency use
authorization to hydroxychloroquine sulfate and
chloroquine phosphate to treat COVID-19 patients.
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4. 4

5. 5

6. A race to develop vaccine?
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7. Year-to-date stock performance: Moderna’s shares have gained 64.6%.
Tradingview.com
Chart extracted from Tradingview on 14 April 2020
First Vaccine Day
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8. Profile of vaccine developers. Of the confirmed active vaccine candidates, 56
(72%) are being developed by private/industry developers, with the remaining
22 (28%) of projects being led by academic, public sector and other non-profit
organizations
Thanh Le, T., Andreadakis, Z., Kumar, A., Gómez Román, R., Tollefsen, S., Saville, M., & Mayhew, S. (2020). The COVID-19 vaccine
development landscape. Nat Rev Drug Discov. doi:10.1038/d41573-020-00073-5
Private company…. Private interest??
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9. A race to develop vaccine?
YES
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10. "This is a race against time"
Kate Broderick, Senior Vice President of Research and
Development at Inovio Pharmaceuticals in San Diego
CBC News
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11. It's us versus it
“And there is a competition. But it's not between the
companies. It's between all of us and the virus. It's
not us and them. It's us versus it. And the only way
we're gonna beat the coronavirus is all working
together. No one group, no one company can
possibly expect to do this alone.”
-Stephen Hoge, MD
President, Moderna Inc.
CBC News
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12. When was the battle started?
31 December 2019
The first 27 cases in
Wuhan City, Hubei
province, China
9 January 2020
The full genome
sequence was available
online by China=
January 11-12
Pasteur Institute=
January 30
20 January 2020
Confirmed cases from three countries
outside China:
Thailand, Japan and South Korea
WHO declared the outbreak of SARS-
CoV-2 a ‘public health emergency of
international concern’
WHO declared the
outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 a
global pandemic
11 March 2020
30 January 2020
1,844,863 cases
117,021 deaths
14 April
2020
Chinese health authorities and the WHO
announced the discovery of a novel
coronavirus, known as 2019-nCoV
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13. SARS-nCOV Sequence
Chen, Y., Liu, Q., & Guo, D. (2020). Emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, and pathogenesis. Journal of medical virology, 92(4), 418-423.13

14. The real battle between us and it
14Moderna Inc.

15. Thanh Le, T., Andreadakis, Z., Kumar, A., Gómez Román, R., Tollefsen, S., Saville, M., & Mayhew, S. (2020). The COVID-19 vaccine
development landscape. Nat Rev Drug Discov. doi:10.1038/d41573-020-00073-5
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16. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT04276896
mRNA vaccine
DNA-based vaccine
Non-replicating viral vector
Non-replicating viral vector
Recombinant protein… Phase 2
updated 15 April 2020
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT04299724
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT04283461
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT04313127
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04336410
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17. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-investigational-vaccine-covid-19-begins
• Binds to ACE-2
• Drug- to block the
entry
• Binds 10x stronger
than SARS–CoV
SARS–CoV2
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18. Kumar, A., Meldgaard, T. S., & Bertholet, S. (2018). Novel Platforms for the Development of a Universal Influenza Vaccine. Front Immunol,
9, 600. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2018.00600
Gene of
interest
Gene of
interest
Gene of
interest
Gene of
interest
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19. http://genetis.com/lentiviral-vector-therapy/
Upon second exposure to virus
Preparation
Encounter DC
And then
At this stage, the
preparation of vaccine
differed depending on
the gene delivery
vehicle they used
When they exposed to
host cells, almost
similar mechanisms
occurred, depending on
the effectiveness of
vaccine
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20. Expression of selected
viral protein
de Wit, E., van Doremalen, N., Falzarano, D., & Munster, V. J. (2016). SARS and MERS: recent insights into emerging coronaviruses. Nat Rev
Microbiol, 14(8), 523-534. doi:10.1038/nrmicro.2016.81
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21. B cells
Plasma cells - Ab -
neutralize the virus
B cell
Kill virus
Recombinant viral vector
(virus)
DNA-based vaccine
(injection or genegun)
mRNA vaccine
(nanoparticles)
Methods of gene delivery
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22. Malaysia landscape
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23. Joining Global Race Creating
Vaccine
• Involvement:
Institute for Medical Research(IMR) in collaboration
with Malaysian Vaccines and Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd
(MVP) and Universiti Malaya Tropical Infectious
Diseases Reasearch and Education Centre(TIDREC).
• Test:
Based on previous research which for the Infectious
Bronchitis Virus (IBV) - avian coronavirus that have
been reportedly have high similarity with human
coronavirus.
(New Straits Times, 25 March 2020)23

24. Starting Global “Solidatary Trial”
• Malaysia also involved in international effort to test
several drugs which are Remdisivir,
Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Interferon Beta, Chloroquine
and Hydroxychloroquine. All treatment will be test
with different combinations.
• Solidatary trial will take place in 9 MOH hospitals
incorporation with World Health
Organization(WHO).
(WHO, 5 April 2020)
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25. Analysing Blood Plasma from Ex-
Covid-19 Patient
Step 1
• 12 patients who have
been recovered donated
their blood plasma.
Step 2
• Blood screening by MOH to ensure they
are free from others diseases and
infections.
Step 3
• MOH will sent the blood cells and
plasma to Institute for Medical
Research (IMR).
Step 4
• IMR will study antibody
viscosity and the
process will be repeated
after two weeks.
Step 5
• Plasma with high
antibody viscosity will
be used to treat other
patients.
(Bernama.com, 15 April 2020)
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26. The blood of coronavirus survivors
could help tackle the pandemic
• plasma-derived therapy
• neutralising antibodies within convalescent plasma and
are likely to be available much sooner than a vaccine,
potentially within the next three months.
• can boost the immune systems of patients as well as
providing a form of immunisation to those who have
yet to contract it.
• Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda began work on
their TAK-888 product in February, while CSL Behring in
the US and other companies are looking to produce
their own equivalent.
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28. 28

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30. Limitations…..
• well controlled clinical trials to confirm efficacy
• theoretical possibility of antibody-dependent
enhancement (ADE) following transfusion of plasma
• Risks of transfusion process, allergic reactions and
inadvertent infection with other infectious pathogens
• Every person who survives an infection will have a
slightly different mix of immune substances in their
plasma… how to choose the right donor…. among
400,000 people recovered?
• Potential worsening of immune-mediated tissue
damage
Tetro JA. Is COVID-19 receiving ADE from other coronaviruses? Microbes Infect. 2020;22(2):72-3.
41. Wan Y, Shang J, Sun S, Tai W, Chen J, Geng Q, et al. Molecular Mechanism for Antibody-Dependent Enhancement of Coronavirus Entry. J
Virol. 2020;94(5). 30

31. Conclusion
• Pharmaceutical companies- pioneer the RnD of
COVID-19 vaccine
• How vaccines are developed
• How immune system is induced and educated
• Convalescent plasma as a therapy
• Understand
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32. THANK YOU
rohimahm@usm.my
This is the du'a that Prophet Yunus (AS) made when
he was isolated and alone
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