University of Pittsburgh scientists vaccine trial shows promise

Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have announced successful work on a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

The test subjects are generating a surge of antibodies against the coronavirus within 14 days of the "micro-needle" patch. The vaccine has, of now, only been tested in mice.

In the micro-needle process, unlike a flu shot, an individual is given a finger-tip sized patch of 400 needles that dissolves into the skin.

The vaccine, which they are calling PittCoVacc, is the result of work by scientists who had worked on the SARS and MERS outbreaks in 2003 and 2014, respectively.

“These two viruses, which are closely related to SARS-CoV-2, teach us that a particular protein, called a spike protein, is important for inducing immunity against the virus. We knew exactly where to fight this new virus,” said Andrea Gambotto, a co-senior author of the paper and associate professor of surgery at the Pitt School of Medicine.

The authors of the study are currently applying for an investigational new drug approval from the FDA. They hope to start a phase 1 human clinical trial in the next few months.

Though testing in human patients would usually require at least 12 months and probably longer, these doctors are unsure of how this situation will play out, due to the urgent nature of the pandemic.