When SARS-CoV-2 emerged on to the global stage in early 2020, many pharma groups leapt into action. After receiving the genetic code of the emerging coronavirus from researchers in Australia and China in mid-January, these companies signed deals and started to apply existing technology – often used for previous coronaviruses like SARS and MERS – to develop vaccines targeting the S protein used by SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells.