In what is being termed as a "global preclinical response" to the outbreak of novel coronavirus which claimed over 600 lives, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia developed the first batch of the virus to create a vaccine.
The development of the virus, by a team lead by Indian-origin scientist S.S. Vasan, is significant as large scale production of this is needed for preclinical studies. The virus was isolated from a human sample last week by Australia’s Doherty Institute.
According to media reports, the death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has reached 636 until Thursday night.
"Undertaken at our secure Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) high-containment facility, our research will help to determine the characteristics of the current virus—a key step in developing a new vaccine," Hindustan Times quoted a CSIRO statement as saying.
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"The research aims to paint a clearer picture of the new coronavirus, including how long it takes to develop and replicate, how it impacts on the respiratory system and how it can be transmitted," the statement further read.
The Indian-origin scientist, who is the principal investigator of CSIRO’s preclinical response project, told Times of India that his colleagues at Australian Animal Health Laboratory "are also working on diagnostics, surveillance and response. Another part of the CSIRO (Manufacturing) is supporting the scaleup of vaccine antigens being developed by the University of Queensland."
Vasan, an alumnus of BITS Pilani and IISc-Bengaluru, further said his lab is working on to increase the virus stock. “Aside from fuelling the essential vaccine preclinical studies, it will accelerate the development and evaluation of therapeutics to complement vaccines,” Times of India quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, scientists in China have said Pangolins could be responsible for the spread of coronavirus. Scientists had found the genome sequence separated from the endangered mammals 99 per cent identical to that from infected people.
Pangolins are believed to be one of the world's most trafficked mammals. Thousands of them are poached every year due to their medicinal value and human consumption in countries like China and Vietnam.
(With agency inputs)