This article was provided by University of Maryland, Baltimore.
For more than a year, researchers at the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have been working tirelessly on COVID-19 vaccine and therapy research, helping to pave the way for the use of vaccines and therapies that are being administered across the country.
Under the leadership of CVD Director, Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, FIDSA, the Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH Professor in Vaccinology at UMSOM, researchers quickly pivoted decades of vaccine and infectious disease research experience toward combating this deadly virus, which continues to impact millions of people around the world. Neuzil has served in a critical leadership role with U.S. and global policymakers, helping to shape COVID-19 research globally.
Vaccine research at CVD continues, with an emphasis on reaching the populations most impacted by COVID-19. CVD experts have launched an expansive grassroots campaign to educate the community and reach those who have been hit the hardest by this terrible virus, including members of the Black and Brown community, the elderly, and those with underlying health risks.
“Our CVD team is contributing to the advancement of several promising COVID vaccine candidates. Our researchers are working to ensure that the safety and performance of these vaccines is meticulously assessed,” Neuzil said.
In the early spring 2020, CVD launched clinical trials for the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients. Results from the study quickly led to authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to administer this treatment to critically ill patients. In May, CVD was the first in the country to test messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer. Since then, Pfizer has received FDA emergency use authorization for its vaccine, which is being administered to front-line workers and others as the national vaccination program progresses.
CVD also conducted Phase 3 clinical trials of Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, enrolling hundreds of individuals and collaborating with hundreds of research sites across the country to drive the authorization of this vaccine, which also is being administered to millions of individuals around the world.
Vaccine research continues. In December, CVD began its Phase 3 clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Maryland-based Novavax. This vaccine differs from the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines because it uses spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. CVD’s research is part of Operation Warp Speed, a multi-agency collaboration led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that aims to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of medical countermeasures for COVID-19. Under Operation Warp Speed, thousands of volunteers are enrolled in large-scale clinical trials, testing a variety of investigational vaccines intended to protect people from COVID-19.
To learn more about COVID-19 research visit CVDTrials.org.
Founded in 1807, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is Maryland’s public health, law, and human services university. Occupying 71 acres in downtown Baltimore, UMB is a pre-eminent institution for graduate and professional education and a prominent academic health center combining cutting-edge biomedical research and exceptional clinical care.
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