The X-Y-Z’s of COVID-19
By: Michael Amadi
Tags: Biotechnology, Coronavirus, Innovation, Covid 19, Science

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

What to others may feel like a dream is a reality. This year millions of people were expecting to enjoy the Olympics and other celebratory festivities such as the “Year of Nurse & Midwife.” However, many of these events were postponed indefinitely or transitioned into virtual events.

Vastly going undetected, spreading the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), leading to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), resulted in a pandemic and halted global markets. To date, more than 61 million cases lead to 1.5 million people succumbing to respiratory infection. In the United States, a significant percentage of the population filed for unemployment, and we all witnessed public outcry. Meanwhile, new COVID-19 cases continue to soar, and people misunderstood the point of wearing a mask.

Here’s a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the economy, strategies to circumvent the impact, and opportunities for innovation.

What is the economic impact?

For almost ten years, the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) has amounted to more than 70 trillion per year. In 2019, the U.S. remained the global GDP growth leader even though healthcare expenditures rose in parallel. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis illustrates COVID-19 dampening growth and reducing the upward trend. The cost of stabilizing the U.S. economy has already added more than 2 billion to the current deficit.

Industries such as healthcare, technology, construction, and retail are essential drivers of the economy. No other sector has suffered greater than retail, which accounts for automotive, food and beverage, general merchandise, and e-commerce. We should note that companies adding unique value, including e-commerce brands, are less likely to be impacted by COVID-19.

The impact on our healthcare system

What happened to our healthcare system? In the early phase of the pandemic, scientists and healthcare professionals were scrambling to understand the symptoms and obtain the virus’s genetic information. A few health experts questioned the disease’s diagnosis as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) but instead favored high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). Yes, a mouthful.

Across the U.S., hospitals were in short supply of ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE). The supply shortage meant hospital staff would wear contaminated PPE for weeks, and access to life-saving technology would become scarce. As hospitals began to overflow, this would put constraints on screening for COVID-19 and patient care.

COVID-19 Technology

Today, 194 FDA-approved Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) COVID-19 tests are available on the healthcare market. However, consumers do not have the freedom to select the type of analyte test or manufacturer. Hospitals and other healthcare services adopted drive-by testing to reduce the complexities of a full waiting room. In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the Department of Defense (DoD), purchased a 150 million 5-minute COVID-19 antigen test from Abbott Laboratories.

The common practice employed by public health officials during disease outbreaks is that of contact tracing. Entrepreneurs and software companies developed mobile applications to improve the identification of infected persons and their contacts within a specific timeframe. So far, privacy concerns and political agendas limit the adoption of contacting tracing solutions. A collaboration involving engineering teams from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech received a RAPID grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a secure application.

SARS-Cov-2 vaccination program

It wasn’t until May when the official announcement of the public-private partnership program (PPP) Operation Warp Speed (OWS) became public knowledge. OWS is a collection of countermeasures to produce 300 million safe and effective vaccine doses by January of 2021. Partnerships between the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Moderna and Pfizer and Biontech led to two innovative messenger ribonucleotide acid (mRNA) vaccines. Both parties concluded their phase III clinical trial and reported meeting all of the study’s primary efficacy endpoints for their mRNA COVID-19 vaccine with more than 90% efficacy.

Another approach to developing a vaccine included the use of experimental drugs such as recombinant adenovirus technology, small molecule, and monoclonal antibodies. In recent news, Gilead’s Remdesivir (Velkury), Eli Lilly and Company’s bamlanivimab, and Regeneron’s casirivimab and imdevimab received EUA. However, not every experimental drug was successful in meeting primary endpoints or diversity goals for clinical trials.

Final thoughts

Without a doubt, 2020 is a complicated year. There are 60 million people infected with SARS-CoV-2, and the number of cases is starting to rise in regions that once had control. Unfortunately, political agendas marred an early response to the virus, and biosecurity programs were publicly tested. Through collaboration, hopefully, we understand the importance of PPP programs, which led to OWS. The outcome of a robust effort has led to more than 230 vaccine programs and 5% in phase III clinical trials while in the manufacturing phase.

Do you also see the opportunities for technology? Although we saw Google and Apple pair up to develop exposure notification API, this is just the beginning or one small step towards a climate that understands biosecurity’s significance. Companies such as LucasPye Bio, MICo Medical, and even a Massachusetts Institute of Technology team are developing technologies or correcting a colossal supply chain issue beyond COVID-19.

The unsung heroes are the essential workers, including farmers and healthcare personnel. Where would we be without food or excellent patient care? Perhaps this episode of 2020 will spark innovation and policy to support the often-forgotten essential workers. In introspect, we generated so much data to look forward to evaluating the gaps in the U.S. healthcare system. Maybe tomorrow, we will understand the correlations between population growth, the strength of biosecurity programs, and disease outbreak. And hopefully, COVID-19 fuels focus and correct our supply chain.