Xuefeng Yu: The Chinese scientist leading researchers close to finding COVID-19 cure
While the World Health Organisation (WHO) is leading global efforts to fight COVID-19 and accelerating collaborative efforts to find a vaccine and effective treatments for the virus, the scientific and medical communities have also been united as they run a kind of race that has kept them on their toes working tirelessly. If there has ever been anytime the world is in dire need of their scientific power, it is now and it is quite impressive that they are not shying away from taking responsibility at these difficult times.
At the heart of the global response to find a vaccine for the ravaging coronavirus pandemic is Dr. Xuefeng Yu, who sits atop as the Chairman and CEO of CanSino Biologics. He has also been part of the global race to find a vaccine that is expected to slow down the death toll and eventually put a stop to the rising mortality.
That COVID-19 would no longer be a death sentence, Yu, a highly accomplished Biopharmaceutical expert, is one of the researchers endorsed by the WHO to find a cure for the virus which has now claimed over 700,000 lives among more than 19 million cases globally. His biopharma company is one of the few front-runners edging towards finding a cure.
As the virus gradually spread outside China to other parts of the world in January, CanSino BIO immediately initiated the project to develop a vaccine in collaboration with BIB. Its vaccine dubbed Ad5-nCoV, uses its adenovirus-based viral vector vaccine platform. In 2017, the same technology helped the company earn a Chinese nod for its Ebola vaccine, which was the first Ebola shot approved anywhere.
In April, a Phase II trial of Ad5-nCoV was carried out on 508 participants from Wuhan, where the first case of the virus was recorded in November 2019. According to the company, the trial was promising and safe, inducing an immune response in most of the volunteers who got one dose.
CanSino’s co-founder said in July that it was in talks with Russia, Brazil, Chile and Saudi Arabia to launch a Phase III trial.
The Chinese scientist with a Ph.D. in Microbiology from McGill University, Canada is an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacology at Nankai University, Tianjin, China. He brings to the research table his over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry in Canada and China.
With rich experience from previously working as Director, Bioprocess R&D, and Corporate Platform Leader at Sanofi Pasteur Inc., one of the world’s largest vaccine suppliers, he’s making tremendous progress on the research. The National Research Council of Canada has also partnered with his company to conduct human trials on the COVID-19 which has shown promising signs.
Yu said the company’s success in developing a cure for the deadly virus is a product of CanSino’s diligent team that has worked almost around the clock since late January to develop the vaccine candidate with sound scientific data to support Investigational New Drug (IND) filing.
“Having committed to provide unconditional support to fight against the global pandemic, CanSinoBIO is determined to launch our vaccine product candidate as soon as possible with no compromise on quality and safety,” Yu said in July.
Neusroom recognises Xuefeng Yu and his team of researchers at CanSino BIO as some of the scientists using their expertise to save the world.
