STAT July 14, 2020
The pharma industry is in a mad dash to bring a Covid-19 vaccine to market, ideally before 2020 slips into 2021. This represents a dramatic acceleration from standard development timelines, which historically have often lasted 10 to 15 years. More than 100 Covid-19 vaccines are currently in development, with 21 already being tested in human clinical trials.
Regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are doing their part to accelerate the path to approval, allowing manufacturers to conduct animal studies in parallel with Phase 1 trials and outlining criteria for emergency authorization before full approval.
These efforts mean we could have a vaccine approved much sooner than was previously possible, which would be a powerful tool for resolving...