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Farmingdale-based Codagenix Inc., which is renowned for using algorithmic systems to allow it to quickly generate potential vaccines, has entered the fray of companies looking to curtail the spread of the virus, which has infected tens of thousands.
As of Friday, Feb. 28, there have been 82,294 cases of coronavirus (1,185 new) confirmed across the globe. Of those cases, 78,630 were reported in China, with 3,664 (746 new) reported outside of China. There have been 2,804 confirmed deaths related to the virus.
Fifty-nine cases (six new) have been confirmed in the United States, with another 11 in Canada. Federal health officials have stated that it is a matter of “when, not if,” the virus will spread to the United States.
According to the company, to develop vaccine candidates, Codagenix does not require access to the coronavirus, only access to its genetic code, which has been posted online by health care officials in China.
Codagenix has reportedly been working on a vaccine for several weeks already.
“We are honored to form a collaboration with the Serum Institute, one of the world's leading vaccine manufacturers. With the Serum Institute's financial and technical support, we will be able to push a coronavirus vaccine into the clinic on an extremely rapid timeline,” J. Robert Coleman, CEO of Codagenix said.
“Live-attenuated vaccines like the ones developed by Codagenix are ideally suited to outbreak scenarios as they scale rapidly and generally require only modest amounts of active ingredient for each immunization, as compared to inactivated and subunit vaccines.”
Glenn Rockman, of Adjuvant Capital, an investigator in the biotech startup stated, "one of the many compelling features of the Codagenix technology is the theoretical ability to rapidly respond to emerging viral threats.
"We never imagined the Codagenix platform would be tested by a possible pandemic so soon after we invested, but we are nonetheless grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the global nCoV response.
"The Codagenix team has been working around the clock with our new colleagues at the Serum Institute of India, and both companies are eager to manufacture and test these new vaccine candidates as quickly as possible."
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