Coronavirus: Funding boost to fast-track critical vaccine project

A coronavirus vaccine could be available within a year after a University of Queensland team was given a $17m funding boost.

University of Queensland’s team has been given a $17 million funding boost to fast-track the development of a coronavirus vaccine. Picture: Supplied

A coronavirus vaccine could be commercially available within a year after a University of Queensland team was given a $17m funding boost to fast-track its development.

The funding is set to shave six months off the time it would normally take to conduct human trials and gain approval to develop the world-leading vaccine.

The university has deemed the team of 20 behind the vaccine as “critical staff” because of the seriousness of the project it is working on.

They have been split into two working groups so that in the case of one person becoming ill, that team can go into quarantine while the other continues to work.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the funding at the university’s campus in Brisbane on Sunday afternoon.

The state government will contribute $10m in funding, on top of $3m from the federal government, $3.5m from the Paul Ramsay Foundation and $500,000 from the a2 Milk Company.

“Finding a fast, safe and effective vaccine to prevent infection from COVID-19 is an urgent public health priority,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

The University of Queensland’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences has gained worldwide attention since it began its vaccine project in January.

The university is the only Australian organisation and one of only six globally to be tasked by the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus.

The university and its research partners the Doherty Institute and CSIRO will use the funding to simultaneously undertake clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of the vaccine candidate and conduct manufacturing trials.

Professor Paul Young, who is head of the university’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said the funding meant they could take the “somewhat radical approach” of developing the vaccine in a nonlinear manner without waiting for success during each level of testing.

“It’s ambitious but we believe it is an attainable goal,” Professor Young said.

“This 12-month timeline is about as good as we’ll get for a vaccine and that is if everything goes according to plan.”

Tests on about 100 adult volunteers are expected to begin in June or July.

Researcher Keith Chappell said the funding would allow the university to “roll out a safe and effective vaccine as quickly as we can” while government-backed containment measures slowed its spread.

“ If we can scale up manufacture at the same time as testing safety and efficacy, we might well prevent future escalations,” Dr Campbell said.