A committee of experts from the Central Standard Medicines Control Organization (CDSCO) will meet on Wednesday at 12 pm to review applications from Pfizer, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech seeking emergency use authorization for their vaccine candidates. COVID-19, the sources said.
The decision was made late Monday night after Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech became the third pharmaceutical company to apply to the Comptroller General of Medicines of India (DCGI) for an emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine developed in the country Covaxin.
64 Indian mission chiefs arrive in Hyderabad
Meanwhile, 64 heads of foreign missions in India arrived in Hyderabad to visit Bharat Biotech and Biological E. Ltd, following the briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA), the ANI news agency reported. This visit will be followed by visits to facilities in other cities in due course. India is the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and has contributed significantly to global efforts against the COVID 19 pandemic.
PM Modi reviews vaccine development
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India’s vaccine production and distribution capacity will be used to help all of humanity fight this crisis. He visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, Bharat Biotech in Hyderabad and the Serum Institute of India in Pune on November 28 for a comprehensive review of the vaccine development and manufacturing process.
On November 30, he had virtual meetings with teams from Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd Pune, Biological E Ltd Hyderabad and Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd Hyderabad. All three teams are working on the development and manufacture of vaccines for COVID-19.
I visited the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad to learn more about the indigenous DNA-based vaccine that Zydus Cadila is developing. I congratulate the team behind this effort for their work. The Government of India is actively working with them to support them on this journey. pic.twitter.com/ZIZy9NSY3o
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2020
At an all-party meeting on December 4, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his hope that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready in a few weeks.
READ | Prakash Javadekar criticizes Oppn for Bandh’s policy and attacks Congress for contract farming
READ | Digvijaya ‘has no expectations of Prez’, wants Nitish to pressure PM Modi on farm laws
6 candidate vaccines in clinical trial stage in India
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday that there are six COVID-19 vaccine candidates in different stages of clinical trials being developed by various manufacturers in India. In addition to this, three candidates for the COVID-19 vaccine are in the preclinical stage of which one of the candidates for the Coronavirus vaccine is in the pre-development stage that Aurobindo Pharma is investigating, the official said.
Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech applied for emergency use approval. PM has interacted with all the vaccine manufacturers and scientists. 6 candidate vaccines in clinical trial stage in India: Ministry of Health pic.twitter.com/OSoWm8WyfX
– ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2020
|
Name of the vaccine |
Maker |
Stage |
|
Covishield |
IBS-Oxford |
Phase II / III |
|
Covaxin |
Bharat Biotech |
Phase III |
|
ZyCoV-D |
Cadila Healthcare Ltd |
Phase ii |
|
Sputnik V |
Dr. Reddy’s lab |
Phase III will begin next week |
|
NVX-CoV2373 |
IBS |
Phase III under consideration |
|
Recombinant protein antigen |
Biological E Ltd |
Start of clinical trials (Phase I and II) |
|
HGCO 19 |
Genoa |
Clinical trials to get started |
|
Inactivated rabies vector platform |
Bharat Biotech |
Preclinical |
On December 2, the UK became the first country in the world to authorize the use of Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency purposes, thus paving the way for delivery of the vaccines.
READ | Congressional Surjewala calls the Karnataka government’s land reform bill a ‘hit to the body’ for farmers
READ | On the death of the BJP workers, CM Mamata Banerjee accuses the saffron party of killing its own people
.
