Warp Speed Innovation: How the Pandemic Ignited Biotech

Crisis breeds ingenuity. History is loaded with examples of extreme events – wars, natural disasters, terrorism – causing great challenges for all of humanity.

And it had been so long since the world saw a biological pandemic, we were caught unprepared. Here was how I opened my recent special report "Vaccine Miracles" for Zacks Ultimate members...

In January of 2020, as the novel coronavirus in China first started to make headlines and had exceeded 2003’s 5,500 peak number of cases for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), I started diving into the research. As a result, I produced an article, a podcast, and a video.

My video was titled "Coronavirus: How Fast to 100,000 Infected?" and I was asking that question at a time when there were only five or six reported cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. I checked YouTube a year later, and my video had only 8,800 views.

But here's what's really shocking. In my research, I uncovered a video from 2010 that was precisely the scientific warning to which the world needed to pay attention. It’s seven minutes long and a year ago, it had only 7,300 views.

SARS, Ebola, and Zika Were Just the Warm-Up Acts

That’s right – this vital scientific warning from a decade ago was almost completely ignored. The video is based on the results of a 2008-2009 commissioned study by scientists, doctors, public health officials, and animal health experts from around the globe addressing the need for massive coordinated tracking and information sharing about zoonotic diseases.

Zoonotic diseases are those that originate from animals. Of the hundreds that exist, at least six are considered "coronaviruses," including SARS, named for the trademark "crowned" spike on their surface.

Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou, co-chair of the study, said "By the time it's recognized in people, it's been circulating for some period of time which leads to a huge need for response."

But world leaders didn't listen to the scientific warning in 2010. So we were not prepared with globally coordinated surveillance and response.

The Threat Was Real – and a Call to Arms

You saw how fast SARS-CoV-2 could spread around the globe and within communities. The most physically vulnerable, senior citizens and those with preexisting health conditions, were the most common victims. But millions of people also saw it impact someone they knew who was young and healthy.

Against this new threat, and with the accumulated knowledge of 15 years battling viral infections including swine flu, bird flu, Ebola, and Zika, the scientific community circled the wagons and prepared for war.

Their first weapon was identification of the invader. And that meant superior genomics sequencing to pinpoint the precise genetic structure of the virus.

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Once this was achieved in February of 2020, the enemy's data ID spread like wildfire across medical journals, emergency conferences and the internet.

The speed of response from scientists once the pandemic started to unfold was a wonder to behold, from testing kits to vaccine development. Never did any expert believe it was possible before 2020 to sequence a virus genome, develop and test an effective and safe vaccine, and bring it to market in just 9 months.

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Zacks Investment Research