BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Haste plus speed: the need to ensure COVID-19 vaccines don’t make infections worse

How COVID-19 vaccine developers can lower the risk of being derailed by antibody-dependent enhancement

March 7, 2020 3:37 AM UTC
Updated on Mar 25, 2020 at 12:54 AM UTC

The rush to make a vaccine for COVID-19 has raised concern that some candidate treatments could make infections worse. The main risk is the chance of inducing antibody-dependent enhancement, a process known to complicate vaccine development in Dengue and several other diseases.

The topic drew attention at a global online forum sponsored last month by WuXi Apptec Co. Ltd. (Shanghai:603259; HKEX:2359) (see "Plotting a Scientific Path to Counter COVID-19"). ...