COVID-19 vaccines developed in different continents
Currently, at least 78 vaccines are evaluated in the clinical trial phases worldwide.7 According to the country where the headquarter of the research and development unit is located, these vaccines were either jointly developed by multiple countries, accounting for 13 vaccines, or independently developed by a single country, accounting for 65 vaccines (Table 2).
Table 2COVID-I9 vaccines developed in different countries as of March 5, 2021
Continent/Country | Primary developers or research institutions or sponsors | Vaccine platform description | Development stage (refs.) |
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Multiple countries | | | |
USA + India | Codagenix/Serum Institute of India | Live attenuated virus | Phase I7,25 |
Netherlands + USA | University Medical Center Groningen + Akston Biosciences Inc. | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Australia + South Korea | Vaxine Pty Ltd. + Medytox | Protein subunit | Phase I7,27 |
China + England + USA | Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc./GSK/Dynavax | Protein subunit | Phase II/III |
China + USA | Medigen Vaccine Biologics + Dynavax + NIAID | Protein subunit | Phase I28 |
France + England | Sanofi Pasteur + GlaxoSmithKline | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
India + Australia | Serum Institute of India + Accelagen Pty | Virus like particle | Phase I/II |
Italy + Germany + Belgium | ReiThera + Leukocare + Univercells | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I7,29 |
USA + Austria + France | Merck & Co. + Themis + Sharp & Dohme + Institute Pasteur + University of Pittsburgh | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase I/II |
USA + Indonesia | Aivita Biomedical, Inc. NIHRD, Ministry of Health Republic of Indonesia | Viral vector (Replicating) + APC | Phase I/II |
USA + South Korea + China | Inovio Pharmaceuticals + International Vaccine Institute + Advaccine (Suzhou) Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd | DNA based vaccine | Phase II/III |
USA + Germany | Pfizer/BioNTech + Fosun Pharma | RNA based vaccine | Phase IV30 |
USA + Thailand | Mahidol University; The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO); Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase I/II |
Asia & Oceania | | | |
China | Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd | Inactivated virus | Phase IV |
China | Sinopharm + China National Biotec Group Co + Wuhan Institute of Biological Products | Inactivated virus | Phase III7,31 |
China | Sinopharm + China National Biotec Group Co + Beijing Institute of Biological Products | Inactivated virus | Phase III |
China | Institute of Medical Biology + Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences | Inactivated virus | Phase III |
China | Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co., Ltd. | Inactivated virus | Phase II |
China | Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co | Inactivated virus | Phase II |
China | Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical + Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences | Protein subunit | Phase III |
China | West China Hospital + Sichuan University | Protein subunit | Phase II |
China | Adimmune Corporation | Protein subunit | Phase I |
China | CanSino Biological Inc./Beijing Institute of Biotechnology | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase III |
China | Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Prevention and Control | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase II |
China | Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute | Viral vector (Replicating) + APC | Phase I32 |
China | University of Hong Kong, Xiamen University and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase II |
China | Shenzhen Geno-Immune Medical Institute | Viral vector (Non-replicating) + APC | Phase I/II |
China | Shulan (Hangzhou) Hospital + Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region | RNA based vaccine | Phase I |
India | Bharat Biotech International Limited | Inactivated virus | Phase III |
India | Biological E Limited | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
India | Bharat Biotech International Limited | | |
India | Cadila Healthcare Ltd. | DNA based vaccine | Phase III |
Israel | Israel Institute for Biological Research | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase I/II |
Japan | Shionogi | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Japan | AnGes + Takara Bio + Osaka University | DNA based vaccine | Phase II/III |
Kazakhstan | Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems, Rep of Kazakhstan | Inactivated virus | Phase III |
South Korea | SK Bioscience Co., Ltd. | Protein subunit | Phase I |
South Korea | Cellid Co., Ltd. | Viral vector (Replicating) | Phase I/II |
South Korea | GeneOne Life Science, Inc. | DNA based vaccine | Phase I/II |
South Korea | Genexine Consortium | DNA based vaccine | Phase I/II |
Thailand | Chulalongkorn University | RNA based vaccine | Phase I |
Turkey | Erciyes University | Inactivated virus | Phase I |
Vietnam | Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Iran | Shifa Pharmed Industrial Co | Inactivated virus | Phase I |
Australia | The University of Queensland | Protein subunit | Phase I |
Australia | University of Sydney, Bionet Co., Ltd Technovalia | DNA based vaccine | Phase I |
Europe | | | |
UK | Valneva, National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom | Inactivated Virus | Phase I/II |
UK | AstraZeneca + University of Oxford | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase IV33 |
UK | Imperial College London | RNA based vaccine | Phase I |
UK | GlaxoSmithKline | RNA based vaccine | Phase I |
Germany | University Hospital Tuebingen | Protein subunit | Phase I |
Germany | University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians) | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
Germany | CureVac AG | RNA based vaccine | Phase III |
Russia | FSRI SRC VB VECTOR | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Russia | Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology; Health Ministry of the Russian Federation | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase III |
Russia | Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Italy | Takis + Rottapharm Biotech | DNA based vaccine | Phase I/II |
North America | | | |
USA | Novavax | Protein subunit | Phase III |
USA | Kentucky Bioprocessing Inc. | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
USA | COVAXX + United Biomedical Inc | Protein subunit | Phase II/III |
USA | VBI Vaccines Inc. | Virus like particle | Phase I/II |
USA | Janssen Pharmaceutical | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase III |
USA | Vaxart | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
USA | ImmunityBio, Inc. | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
USA | City of Hope Medical Center + National Cancer Institute | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
USA | Altimmune, Inc. | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
USA | Gritstone Oncology | Viral vector (Non-replicating) | Phase I |
USA | Providence Health & Services | DNA based vaccine | Phase I |
USA | Moderna + NIAID | RNA based vaccine | Phase IV34,35 |
USA | Arcturus Therapeutics | RNA based vaccine | Phase II |
Canada | Symvivo Corporation | DNA based vaccine | Phase I |
Canada | Providence Therapeutics | RNA based vaccine | Phase I |
Canada | University of Saskatchewan | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Cuba | Instituto Finlay de Vacunas | Protein subunit | Phase II |
Cuba | CIGB | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Cuba | CIGB | Protein subunit | Phase I/II |
Canada | Medicago Inc. | Virus like particle | Phase II/III7,36 |
Canada | Entos Pharmaceuticals Inc. | DNA based vaccine | Phase I |
In Asia and Oceania, countries, where COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed in clinical trials, include China, South Korea, India, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, and Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and Iran.7 Among them, China has 15 vaccines, India and South Korea each have three vaccines, Japan has two vaccines, and Israel, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, and Iran each have one vaccine. Among these vaccines, there are ten inactivated vaccines, six protein subunit vaccines, seven viral vector vaccines, and six nucleic acid vaccines (Table 2).7,34–36
In Europe, countries, where COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed in clinical trials, include the United Kingdom of Great Britain (UK), Germany, and Russia.7 Among them, there are three vaccines in the UK, three vaccines in Germany, and two in Russia. Among these vaccines, there are one inactivated vaccine, two protein subunit vaccines, three viral vector vaccines, and two nucleic acid vaccines (Table 2).7
In North America, countries, where COVID-19 vaccines are currently being developed in clinical trials, include the United States of America (USA), Canada and Cuba.7 Among them, the USA has 11vaccines, and Canada and Cuba each have three vaccines. Among these vaccines, there are six protein subunit vaccines, one virus-like particle vaccine, five viral vector vaccines, and five nucleic acid vaccines (Table 2).7
COVID-19 vaccines approved for application in the general population
To our knowledge, at least nine vaccines, including four inactivated vaccines, one protein subunit vaccine, two viral vector vaccines, and two nucleic acid vaccines, have been authored or approved by authorities of many countries for emergency use in general population at present (Table 4).8
Table 4COVID-19 vaccines authorized/approved for emergence use as of February 12, 20218
Name* | Vaccine Type | Developer/sponsor | Country of Origin | Authorization/Approval |
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Vero cell | Inactivated vaccine | Wuhan Institute of Biological Products; Sinopharm | China | China |
BBIBP-CorV | Inactivated vaccine | Beijing Institute of Biological Products; Sinopharm | China | China, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan, Serbia35 |
Covaxin | Inactivated vaccine | Bharat Biotech, ICMR | India | India |
CoronaVac | Inactivated vaccine (formalin with alum adjuvant) | Sinovac | China | China, Bolivia, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil |
EpiVacCorona | Protein subunit | Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology “Vector” | Russia | Russia36 |
AZD1222 (Covishield) | Non-replicating viral vector | AstraZeneca, University of Oxford, BARDA, OWS | UK | UK, Argentina, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Hungary, Thailand37 |
Sputnik V | Non-replicating viral vector | Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Acellena Contract Drug Research and Development | Russia | Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Guinea (experimental use), Bolivia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Serbia38 |
mRNA-1273 | mRNA-based vaccine | Moderna, BARDA, NIAID | USA | Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, EU, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway37 |
Comirnaty (BNT162b2) | mRNA-based vaccine | Pfizer, BioNTech; Fosun Pharma | Multinational | United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, Mexico, USA, Singapore, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jordan, Panama, Chile, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Switzerland, Kuwait, EU, Philippines, Pakistan, Colombia, Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Malaysia, Norway, Serbia38 |
The four approved inactivated vaccines were developed by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products (Wuhan, China), Beijing Institute of Biological Products (Beijing, China), Sinovac (Beijing, China) and Bharat Biotech (Hyderabad, India), respectively.8 On December 30, 2020, the COVID-19 vaccine, BBIBP-CorV, from Beijing Institute of Biological Products was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for marketing in China.39 This vaccine is reportedly to provide 79.3% protection against the coronavirus which meets the standards of the WHO and NMPA.39 Adverse events, which are mainly local pain and induration, have been reported in a proportion of people who have been inoculated with this vaccine. Mild fever occurs in less than 0.1% of cases, and the incidence of more severe adverse events such as allergic reactions is about two per million. These adverse events are improved or disappear over time with or without treatment.39
The approved protein subunit vaccine, EpiVacCorona, was developed by the Federal Budgetary Research Institution State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology (Koltsovo, Russia). The unique feature of EpiVacCorona is that it contains the fragment of synthetic peptide antigen of the virus. According to consumer health watchdog, EpiVacCorona has proved to be 100% effective in early-stage trials.40
The two approved viral vector vaccines, AZD1222 (formerly ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) and Sputnik V (or Gam-Covid-Vac), were developed by AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK), in collaboration with University of Oxford, UK, and Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology (Moscow, Russia), respectively.8 An interim analysis of four ongoing randomized controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK showed that AZD1222 had an acceptable safety profile and was efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19.41 So far, AZD1222, or Covishield (the Serum Institute of India version), has been authorized for emergence use in the UK, India, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, and Morocco,7 and Sputnik V was approved for emergence use in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Guinea (experimental use), Bolivia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, and Serbia.42
The two approved mRNA vaccines, mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2, were developed by Moderna (Cambridge, MA, USA) and Pfizer (New York, USA) in collaboration with BioNTech’s (Mainz, Germany) respectively.43,44 It has been reported that the two vaccines have efficacy rates of 95.0% and 94.1%, respectively.44,45 The local reactions to mRNA-1273 vaccination are mild; however, moderate-to-severe systemic adverse events, such as fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, and headache, have been noted in approximately 50% of recipients of mRNA-1273 after the second dose. These adverse events are transient; they usually start about 15 hours after vaccination and are resolved on day 2 without severe consequences.46 The preliminary data on the safety of BNT162b2 have also been reported. Among the 1,893,360 first doses of BNT162b2 administered from December 14 to 23, 2020 in the USA, 21 case reports submitted to Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) met the Brighton Collaboration case definition criteria for anaphylaxis, corresponding to an estimated rate of 11.1 cases per million doses administered.47 Four (19%) of these cases were hospitalized, with three being treated in the intensive care unit, and 17 (81%) were treated in the emergency department. In addition, 20 (95%) were discharged or had recovered at the time of the report to VAERS. There were no deaths from anaphylaxis.47 Therefore, both vaccines appear to be safe without serious adverse events; however, considering that mRNA vaccines are relatively new, their safety must be closely monitored in phase IV clinical trials in the future (Table 3).48 Currently, mRNA-1273 has also been approved in the USA, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the UK, the European Union, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway.7,41 BNT162b2 has been approved for emergency use in the USA, the UK, Bahrain, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jordan, Panama, Chile, Oman, Saudi Arabia, etc.8,42