If you were wondering about what treatments and vaccines are in the works for the new coronavirus – there's a tracker for that.
The document was developed and is being maintained by Faster Cures, a center of the Milken Institute.
Executive Director Esther Krofah says "I hope that it creates some momentum and I hope for patients it creates some reassurance that there's work being done. But I also hope for the research community, for industry and other partners, that have really allowed them to share learnings and to recognize where other work is being done."
LINK: https://milkeninstitute.org/covid-19-tracker
She says they're currently tracking nearly 100 treatments and vaccines that are being worked on around the globe.
"The treatment capture both antibody responses as well as other solutions that have been used to treat SARS, or MERS or Ebola that can quickly be deployed. On the vaccine side, that's when we can immunize and prevent illness for a mass number of people," she said.
The tracker will grow to include FDA-approved indications where appropriate.
Nearly 100 are currently being tracked from antibodies to cell-based therapies and vaccines that are being worked on by researchers around the world.
"There are thousands of researchers that are putting their time and their attention on this issue, day in and day out, globally. Patients are concerned 'when are we going to see a treatment? When are we going to see a cure? Is a vaccine coming down the line?'" Krofah said.
Krofah feels like it's reassuring to have a document with all of this publicly available information in one place.
On the research side, she hopes it accelerates efforts of collaboration.
