Officials expect the drug to be available within 90 days after it has been tested
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis called it an 'exciting breakthrough'
Researchers had been working on a vaccine against a virus found in poultry
They now say if they can 'adjust the system' from the poultry coronavirus to the human one they will have 'in a few weeks a vaccine to prevent coronavirus'
Scientists in Israel say they are just weeks away from developing an oral vaccine which will beat coronavirus.
Officials in the country expect the drug to be available within 90 days after it has completed the necessary testing.
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis said: 'Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough.
'I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat.'
Scientists at MIGAL confirmed they have been working on a vaccine against infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) found in poultry.
It has been tested at the Veterinary Institute where its said to have been proven effective.
Chen Katz, MIGAL’s biotechnology group leader, said: 'Our basic concept was to develop the technology and not specifically a vaccine for this kind or that kind of virus.'
The oral vaccination induced high levels of specific anti-IBV antibodies in trials, according researchers.
MIGAL scientists say if they can 'adjust the system' from the poultry coronavirus to the human one they will have 'in a few weeks, if it all works, we would have a vaccine to prevent coronavirus'.
Dr Katz added: 'All we need to do is adjust the system to the new sequence.
'We are in the middle of this process, and hopefully in a few weeks we will have the vaccine in our hands. Yes, in a few weeks, if it all works, we would have a vaccine to prevent coronavirus.'
MIGAL CEO David Zigdon said : 'Given the urgent global need for a human coronavirus vaccine, we are doing everything we can to accelerate development.
'We are currently in intensive discussions with potential partners that can help accelerate the in-human trials phase and expedite completion of final-product development and regulatory activities.'
Officials said 33 people had tested positive for the virus in California as of Thursday, one day after the US' first unknown origin case was announced and the CDC was blasted for not testing the individual for four days.
There are now 60 known cases of the virus in the United States.
And the virus has now infected more than 82,000 people globally and is worrying governments with its rapid spread beyond the epicenter of China.
The first human clinical trials of an antiviral treatment for the coronavirus that's sickened more than 80,000 people worldwide are set to begin in Nebraska, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the drugmaker, Moderna, announced its candidate coronavirus vaccine has been shipped to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to begin phase 1 clinical trials in humans.
Chinese state media had reported scientists developed an oral vaccine for the new coronavirus using baker's yeast.
HOW WILL THE VACCINE WORK?
Israeli cientists say they have been able to use the development of a vaccine against infectious bronchitis virus found in poultry to help them.
Chen Katz said: 'Let’s call it pure luck. We decided to choose coronavirus as a model for our system just as a proof of concept for our technology.'
Katz added: 'The scientific framework for the vaccine is based on a new protein expression vector, which forms and secretes a chimeric soluble protein that delivers the viral antigen into mucosal tissues by self-activated endocytosis, causing the body to form antibodies against the virus.'
Endocytosis sees substances brought into the cell.
MIGAL scientists say if they can 'adjust the system' from the poultry coronavirus to the human one they will have 'in a few weeks, if it all works, we would have a vaccine to prevent coronavirus'.
A professor in charge of the project had reportedly taken four doses of the drug without having any side effects. However, the expert said the product was still 'far from' being sold on the market because it needed to pass animal tests and clinical trials.
Multiple research teams have begun developing vaccines for the disease since an outbreak emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province late last year.
Last month, a Russian diplomatic mission in China said that Russia and China were working to develop a vaccine and that Beijing had handed over the genome of the virus to Moscow.
Johnson & Johnson is one of the drugmakers that have begun work on developing a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Jack Ma, China's richest man, donated $14million to help scientists develop anti-coronavirus inoculations.
While the United States pledged $2.5 billion to fight the disease, with more than $1 billion going towards developing a vaccine.
Scientists at Greffex, a Houston, Texas-based genetic engineering company, claim they've created a coronavirus vaccine.
The company told the Houston Business Journal that it had completed development of the vaccine and it is ready for animal testing and review by US regulators.
It comes after UK scientists announced they'd begun testing their shot, and researchers at the University of Texas at Austin announced they'd made compound they believe can serve as a vaccine.
Globally, the coronavirus epidemic has killed at least 2,705 people, infected more than 80,340 and spread to at least two dozen countries.
Compiled by Olalekan Adeleye
Daily Mail
