Locally Developed Coronavirus Vaccine Injected Into First Human Volunteer

Speaker 1: 00:00 Governor Gavin Newsome focused his daily Kovac 19 news conference today on an unprecedented state procurement initiative to secure personal protective equipment for the entirety of the need of healthcare workers in California. He says the state is making a significant investment of one point $4 billion in obtaining the supplies Speaker 2: 00:21 we need to go boldly. Uh, and we need to meet this moment without playing small ball any longer and we need to coordinate and organize, uh, our nation state status, uh, as we can only in California. Speaker 1: 00:35 The state initiative of securing contracts with companies, a nongovernmental organizations in Asia and beyond will provide 200 million hospital grade facemasks alone. And San Diego was mentioned as one of the counties that will receive the purchased supplies. Meanwhile, a San Diego lab is now testing its Corona virus vaccine in humans and Novio pharmaceuticals injected its first patients this week at sites in Pennsylvania and Missouri and Novios lead researcher Kate Broderick spoke to KPBS health reporter Taran mento who starts by asking about the volunteer who received the first dose. Speaker 3: 01:14 He was very, very excited, I think, to be part of this trial. And also to be the first ever person to, to um, to be able to, um, test our vaccine. Um, and we just are so thankful for all of the volunteers who, um, who have really stepped up and want to be part of this trial. Speaker 4: 01:34 This isn't the first time you've reached human trials with your DNA vaccines, but what is the significance of this to you with this particular vaccine? Speaker 3: 01:44 Yes, absolutely. So we've tested R, D different DNA medicines and over 2000 people so far. So we've really done a, a, a huge amount of clinical testing, but the significance of us getting this far subject treated for our covert 19 vaccine is just absolutely remarkable. And I can see without a shadow of a doubt that the whole team or Novio has been working 24, seven DNA to, to get to this moment in time saw for us as a team, that's a huge achievement. But I also like to think of it as a massive achievement for, um, you know, the whole global community in general because this is another step forward towards a solution for the current global. Um, covert 19 eight batik. Speaker 4: 02:34 Now this individual and the others that come after him will be given a second dose after four weeks. But in between those four weeks, what are you looking for? Speaker 3: 02:45 So a phase one clinical trial is really primarily to assess the safety of the vaccines. So you look for any adverse side effects. That's not something we've ever seen and in our two patients that have gone before and there's trials, so we feel pretty confident about that, but we also need to know how the vaccine reacts within the human body. So we'll be taking samples from each of our volunteers, so blood samples and we'll be testing their blood for the presence of the different antibodies and T-cells that we believe will be crucial to the body's ability to defend itself against this Vidas. Speaker 4: 03:26 How often will you be taking blood samples and is that person coming in every time to do that? Speaker 3: 03:30 Yeah, that's correct. Sorts of variety of different stages throughout the process. We'll be taking samples from each of the subjects and really at crucial times during there, the whole spread of the trial. Um, some early up front, some of the med time and also some longer term blood draws as well. And it gives us, it gives us the ability to see K the ho the body responds immediately how it responds after this, the booster dose and then how it responds. Maybe after a year or so of having had the vaccine. Speaker 4: 04:01 You just mentioned collecting data a year after a person gets the actual vaccine. But I know that you've talked about having results from this human trial by the summer Speaker 3: 04:13 I'll be looking to get what we call interim data. So that'll be data sort of out there. The mid stage I guess you could see of the trial and potentially using that data if it looks positive to go back to the FDA and see, would you be, um, would you be comfortable with us pushing forward into a phase two? So that's how much larger clinical trial and using that data to support that decision. Speaker 4: 04:37 I know that you have other trials that are going on later stage trials. Are those still going on and where do the vaccines for those other diseases stand? Speaker 3: 04:48 At the moment, we have two concurrent phase three trials for our therapeutic HPV vaccine ongoing. And that's the last stage of clinical testing before something moves forward to what we call license sheriffs. So something that becomes an approved product and those are huge trials as you can imagine. They're, they're very large. Um, and it's really to came to get a sense of how a vaccine like this looks in a very large population. As you can imagine with the cuttin, you know, global situation at the moment where the people are really restricted in the movements. We're really assessing D to D the impact that this was going to have on our ongoing trials for our HPV vaccine. Also for our vaccine against GBM, which is a terrible brain cancer. We're, we're hoping to minimize those impacts, but I think we all have to be realistic that, you know, the situation today is very different than the situation was even a few months ago. Speaker 4: 05:48 When will be the end of all of these social distancing, you know, gatherings, fewer than 10 people measures be lifted and we can go back to normal. Speaker 3: 05:57 And I would love to be able to give you an everyone a definitive answer to that. But just to be perfectly honest, there isn't one at the moment and you know, it's great to see that in some parts of China after multiple months of lockdown, things are starting to return to normal and we should see that as a, as a true beacon of hope for what we can, what we can look forward to in the coming months. But certainly at the moment the one thing we absolutely have to do is stick with the self isolate, tag, stick with the social distance saying stick with the sort of general health and feedback about washing our harms and sneezing and Tyrrell bulls and such. Like, you know, these are the only tools that we have at the moment. Yes, absolutely. We're working as fast as we can on the vaccine and sore. Many others people are developing therapies and tests. Caps are unbelievable speeds, but at the moment the best thing we can do is self isolate, quarantine, stay at home, protect yourself and protect the healthcare workers. That's the best thing you can do. Today, Speaker 4: 07:05 we talk a lot about the fact that we don't know when we'll get back to normal life. And that's very concerning and alarming and stressful to a lot of people. I guess what comforts you. Speaker 3: 07:15 So as a scientist there is, I have no doubt at all that we will have an effective vaccine and effective therapy for covert 19 and I don't know who's it will be and I can't give you a D as to when that'll be ready. But I know that the science, the technology that M has developed globally is such an a possession that we will have tools to fight this virus. The problem is we just don't have those right now. And so I have every hope that this is completely achievable and this virus is completely fightable, but we just need time. So that's my, that's what gives me hope as a scientist and as a mother or just as a member of society, we've had to deal with some terrible things and you know, in society, maybe not in our lifetime, but certainly few past generations with, you know, terrible situations with Wars and such like, and we've always managed to get through these. Speaker 3: 08:19 And you know, I think it's, it's almost heartening to me to see how I think people have really started to think about, you know, looking after other people, you know, looking at it on their neighbors and, you know, just giving a wave to kind of a stranger out for a walk that seems to almost have Caden reignited the sense of society and you're, that gives me hope that, um, you know, if everybody gets together and pulls together on this one and we're going to be okay, we're going to, we are going to get through this.