We no longer present the university of Oxford, its colleges with gothic architecture, its splendid gardens and its cloisters quiet. The oldest british university, whose roots date back to the Twelfth century, is a jewel of history and know known all over the world.
Yet, it is at a stone's throw from the historic centre, in an industrial park in the architecture banal that lies in the laboratory, the most advanced among the programs of research on a vaccine against the coronavirus. Nestled on the campus of the Old Road, the Jenner Institute (JI) is currently holding the rope in the course of clinical tests on a large scale on the man to develop the vaccine as expected.
The building's color chlorophyll, which houses the research centre, founded in 2005, plans or power or arrogance. The only original touch in this business, para-university, which employed around one hundred researchers and phd students, is the bust of Edward Jenner who invented the smallpox vaccine in 1796.
"Create synergies development of vaccines"
according To its website, the mission of the brand is to " create synergies development of vaccines for the benefit of human beings as animals ". We don't know more. Since the announcement, the 23 April, the early tests of a vaccine home about a thousand volunteers aged 18 to 55 years, the centre's director, Adrian Hill, and her assistant, Sarah Gilbert, the coordinator of the project "Covid-19" are conspicuously absent. Faced with the deluge of requests for interviews and visits from the media from around the world (including The Point), the Jenner Institute is closed as an oyster.
according To the press release published by the university of Oxford, the number of human guinea pigs is expected to reach 6 000 by the end of may. A partnership has been signed with seven groups of biotechnology known to manufacture the vaccine in the United Kingdom, western Europe, China and India. We don't know over there, either.
"The man who will save us," these are the words of praise that india tv was described by Adrian Hill, the owner of the Jenner Institute. Aged 61 years, this Irish-molded at Trinity College and at Oxford is an expert of infectious diseases. His philosophy is simple : "vaccines are a good thing to defeat the pandemic, and the reverse, that a pandemic can develop new vaccines, is also true ". During his career, he distinguished himself in the search for vaccines against malaria, aids, tuberculosis and, more recently, Ebola.
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A vaccine that is hoped for in a ten month
"In the sprint world against the coronavirus, the university of Oxford is largely in the head," applauded the Times. Hill is not fooled. In the area of praise and the hyperbole is suspect. If the Jenner Institute hopes to create a vaccine by twelve to eighteen months, his boss pointed out the many challenges to be faced, like the safety of the product, the weakening of the immune defense and the type of protection offered. The technology is uncertain and the possible problems of mutation of the virus may occur.
in addition, the competition is fierce. Its great british competitor is Imperial College, the famous university research centre in london, including human trials should begin in June. On the market niche chosen by the IJ, the vaccine " viral vector ", the Pasteur Institute and the technological Institute in china are also on the ranks. In total, some seventy programs of research on a vaccine against the coronavirus are currently being conducted around the world. The vaccines market is estimated at 35 billion dollars (32 billion euros) per year. In 2019, the rate of growth amounted to 8 %.
Several advantages of weight
In the race to the vaccine, the Jenner Institute has several advantages of weight. First of all, in addition to its know-how acquired during the pandemic of Ebola, the property benefits from its research on the scourge of the "Middle East" respiratory syndrome " (Mers-CoV), a variant highly pathogenic coronavirus discovered in 2012 in the Middle East.
Then, the Jenner Institute is an integral part of the organization of the science park to the English, the "cluster" that brings together around the university, namely the faculty of medicine, Nuffield, hospital, SMES in biotechnology, large pharmaceutical groups of companies in high-tech medical technology, control and certification.
Also, its status as a non-profit allows him to avoid having to grant exclusive licenses to large labs and pharmaceutical to ensure equitable access for all. The philosophy of Adrian Hill is bluntly : "Nobody should get rich on the back of a vaccine. "
Oxford superstarThe Institute Jenner enjoys the fame and the power of the university of Oxford, which appears in the head of the pack (7th in 2019), of the inescapable index Shanghai of the most prestigious universities of the world. The alma mater is made up of 38 colleges are self-sustaining with a total of 24 515 students from 162 countries (of which 238 French).
The Shanghai ranking is based on the reputation of the research, which is gaining prestige, academic influence and funding. The advantage of the English language, " the lingua franca of higher education, plays in full. The size, financial resources, selection of students and the close links with the private sector are all strong points. Professors and researchers are royally paid.
And by attracting many students from china and india, the university of Oxford has made a destiny for the planet, which now benefits the Jenner Institute.
