EastGate Biotech announced the company along with its Joint Venture Partner EastGate Biotech Pakistan have agreed to move forward with the development of a new vaccine to combat Coronavirus COVID-19 in China and others affected around the globe.
EastGate Biotech Pakistan has access to existing vaccine production companies; some of which already have experience with MERS coronavirus and who are presently conducting clinical studies of the COVID-19 vaccine. Discussions with these manufacturers are well underway. Initially any agreement would involve manufacturing scale of the vaccine to be supplied by the manufacturer. In anticipation of regulatory approval, EastGate Biotech Pakistan is also negotiating commercial manufacturing rights which will enable a smooth transition to larger scale facilities in its Pakistani market. The role of EastGate Biotech would be to potentially register the vaccine for regulatory approval and engage partners in North America.
“The development of vaccinations to both prevent and treat disease to help people worldwide will complement our distribution of Anaferon, which is already included in our Joint Venture Agreement. As reported before, Anaferon has the potential to block the protease that the virus needs to replicate,” said Nasir Irfat of EastGate Biotech Pakistan. “Since the last SARS outbreak, we have been vigilant looking for other products to fight new viruses. Our collaboration with EastGate Biotech Corp. allows us to mine our network for new products like antibiotics, and then expand our distribution channels.”
“The outbreak of new viruses are proving to be more complex and challenging to contain,” said Anna Gluskin, CEO of EastGate Biotech. “This makes prevention just as important as treatment, and there is room in the marketplace for new products that deal with these growing health concerns. We look forward to completing our licensing agreements with these companies and their innovative solutions.”
“We share the same concern with health organizations on the size of the infected population and the fatalities from COVID-19,” said Bill Abajian, Chief Operating Officer of EastGate Biotech. “Illnesses that affect populations on a large scale not only have a personal impact on individuals and their families, but also on national government management both in terms of personnel and budgetary controls. We are focused on pursuing technologies that will tackle chronic illnesses and are cognizant of the limited resources available to manage global health organizations.”
Anaferon was originally developed in Russia where it saw its first widespread use for the treatment of acute viral and bacterial infections. Eventually it was tested as a prophylaxis in adults and children. Anaferon is part of a drug class called interferon. When a cell is infected with a virus it releases interferons also known as cytokines which are signaling proteins that essentially warn nearby cells to heighten their anti-viral defenses. When a cell is under viral attack, one of cytokines released is Interferon gamma (IFN-y) which is the primary activator of macrophages, natural killer cells, and neutrophils. Anaferon is a released-active form of antibody that targets the stimulation of INF-y and activation of the innate immune response.
COVID-19 was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. The origin of COVID-19 is uncertain and it is unclear how easily the virus spreads. COVID-19 is thought to be transmitted person to person through respiratory droplets, commonly resulting from coughing sneezing and close personal contact. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing illness in people and others that circulate among animals. For confirmed COVID-19 infections, symptoms have included fever, cough and shortness of breath. It is believed that symptoms of COVID-19 may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days prior to exposure, and that symptoms in patients have ranged from non-existent to severe and fatal.6 There are currently no known anti-viral treatments effective at suppressing COVID-19.