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Bloomberg
The first trials to deliberately infect people with the coronavirus to accelerate the development of vaccines could occur in the UK next year as part of an agreement reached by the government.
Britain signed a contract with Open Orphan Plc and its London-based unit, hVivo, that paves the way for human challenge trials, the company said on Tuesday. The plan is to manufacture Sars-Cov-2 and conduct a study to determine how much of the pathogen to expose volunteers to in the trials.
The tests, backed by 33.6 million pounds ($43 million) in government funding, would be carried out at the Royal Free Hospital’s specialist research unit in London, with Imperial College London as a partner. The company didn’t comment on which vaccines could be used in challenge trials.
The agreement is a turning point in the debate over whether to conduct such studies, which could help researchers combat the virus but expose healthy volunteers to potential risks. A campaign to launch challenge trials has gained momentum as the virus continues to advance globally, and tens of thousands of people around the world have signed up to participate.
Some public health specialists have questioned whether the studies are justified, citing the lack of treatments to save people who are seriously ill along with unresolved questions about the virus, including why some young and otherwise healthy people end up with complications months after experiencing mild symptoms. Proponents have said the risks would be minimised by selecting younger people who don’t have health conditions.