HYDERABAD: As the world prepares for a new year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the city is poised to emerge as a ‘savior’ from the killer virus, with up to five here-based vaccine manufacturing companies rushing to pull off an antidote to light.
The vaccine development process for Bharat Biotech, Biological E Ltd and Aurobindo Pharma is currently in several stages, while Dr. Reddy’s and Hetero have agreements to manufacture the vaccine.
Some of these companies have also developed plans to expand their vaccine manufacturing capabilities.
In addition to vaccine manufacturers, the International Airport here has also stepped up the cold chain infrastructure for vaccine transportation.
GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC is in discussions with various stakeholders to meet specific export and import requirements for Covid-19 vaccines.
A recent visit by more than 60 sent to the Bharat Biotech and BE vaccine manufacturing facilities establishes the fact that the city will be at the forefront of manufacturing and supplying vaccines for Covid-19, which is shaking the world with more than 77 million cases and almost two million. deaths from now on.
Udaya Bhaskar, CEO of b Pharmexcil, a pharmaceutical export promotion body under the department of commerce, said that since there is no policy in place regarding exports of Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, it can be assumed that the center can ensure that the national requirement is met before allowing vaccine manufacturers to export.
“All of these vaccine manufacturers, except Bharat Biotech, have development or manufacturing links with foreign companies.
We do not know the details of the agreement on how much will be exported from India.
However, the Indian government has the last word in this regard, “Bhaskar said. Telangana’s director of public health, G Srinivas Rao, said that although the companies are located here, the state will have no preference in the allocation of vaccines, as the Center will decide.
The state has no role in the allocation of vaccines. Only the center will decide. They will devise a method to assign the number of doses and states will receive it accordingly, “the official said.
The city’s prominence was heightened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a Bharat Biotechat Genome Valley facility here on November 28 and reviewed the progress of Covaxin, a candidate vaccine for Covid-19.
It is being developed by the company in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology and is now undergoing phase 3 trials.
In addition to Covaxin, BB is also in the process of launching a vaccine that would be intranasal.
Biological E Ltd has signed an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, part of the major pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, for the creation and improvement of production capacities to manufacture the latter’s Covid-19 candidate vaccine, currently in Phase 1/2 of clinical trials. International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a loan of up to USD 30 million (about Rs 220 crore) to BE to support its expansion of low-priced generic vaccines for routine immunization of children and increase the capacity of manufacture any future Covid-19 vaccines.
Aurobindo Pharma expects to commercialize its vaccine manufacturing plant in Hyderabad between April and May next year and is investing around Rs 275 million in the facility, which would be used to produce vaccines for the treatment of various viral diseases, including Covid- 19.
A senior official at the CSIR-Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology had previously said that three CSIR CCMB-Hyderabad laboratories, the Chandigarh Institute of Medical Technology and the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, are developing vaccine candidates using different technology platforms.
Aurobindo will be responsible for the clinical development and commercialization of the vaccines.
The company also entered into an exclusive license agreement with Covaxx, a US-based company, to develop, market and manufacture UB-612, the first multi-toxin peptide-based vaccine to combat Covid-19, for India and the United Nations Children’s Fund. (UNICEF) agency.
Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have already said that they started phase 2/3 adaptive clinical trials for Sputnik V vaccine in India after receiving the necessary authorization from the Central Medicines Laboratory, Kasauli. in Himachal.
In September 2020, Dr. Reddys and RDIF partnered to conduct clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights to distribute the first 100 million doses in India.
The pharmaceutical company Hetero also has a link with RDIF to manufacture more than 100 million doses of Sputnik V per year.
City-based companies also played a crucial role in supplying drugs and bulk formulations for some of the prescription drugs for Covid-19 such as Remdesivir and Favipiravir.
The vaccine development process for Bharat Biotech, Biological E Ltd and Aurobindo Pharma is currently in several stages, while Dr. Reddy’s and Hetero have agreements to manufacture the vaccine.
Some of these companies have also developed plans to expand their vaccine manufacturing capabilities.
In addition to vaccine manufacturers, the International Airport here has also stepped up the cold chain infrastructure for vaccine transportation.
GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC is in discussions with various stakeholders to meet specific export and import requirements for Covid-19 vaccines.
A recent visit by more than 60 sent to the Bharat Biotech and BE vaccine manufacturing facilities establishes the fact that the city will be at the forefront of manufacturing and supplying vaccines for Covid-19, which is shaking the world with more than 77 million cases and almost two million. deaths from now on.
Udaya Bhaskar, CEO of b Pharmexcil, a pharmaceutical export promotion body under the department of commerce, said that since there is no policy in place regarding exports of Covid-19 vaccines to other countries, it can be assumed that the center can ensure that the national requirement is met before allowing vaccine manufacturers to export.
“All of these vaccine manufacturers, except Bharat Biotech, have development or manufacturing links with foreign companies.
We do not know the details of the agreement on how much will be exported from India.
However, the Indian government has the last word in this regard, “Bhaskar said. Telangana’s director of public health, G Srinivas Rao, said that although the companies are located here, the state will have no preference in the allocation of vaccines, as the Center will decide.
The state has no role in the allocation of vaccines. Only the center will decide. They will devise a method to assign the number of doses and states will receive it accordingly, “the official said.
The city’s prominence was heightened after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited a Bharat Biotechat Genome Valley facility here on November 28 and reviewed the progress of Covaxin, a candidate vaccine for Covid-19.
It is being developed by the company in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology and is now undergoing phase 3 trials.
In addition to Covaxin, BB is also in the process of launching a vaccine that would be intranasal.
Biological E Ltd has signed an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, part of the major pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, for the creation and improvement of production capacities to manufacture the latter’s Covid-19 candidate vaccine, currently in Phase 1/2 of clinical trials. International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, recently announced a loan of up to USD 30 million (about Rs 220 crore) to BE to support its expansion of low-priced generic vaccines for routine immunization of children and increase the capacity of manufacture any future Covid-19 vaccines.
Aurobindo Pharma expects to commercialize its vaccine manufacturing plant in Hyderabad between April and May next year and is investing around Rs 275 million in the facility, which would be used to produce vaccines for the treatment of various viral diseases, including Covid- 19.
A senior official at the CSIR-Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology had previously said that three CSIR CCMB-Hyderabad laboratories, the Chandigarh Institute of Medical Technology and the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, are developing vaccine candidates using different technology platforms.
Aurobindo will be responsible for the clinical development and commercialization of the vaccines.
The company also entered into an exclusive license agreement with Covaxx, a US-based company, to develop, market and manufacture UB-612, the first multi-toxin peptide-based vaccine to combat Covid-19, for India and the United Nations Children’s Fund. (UNICEF) agency.
Dr Reddys Laboratories Ltd and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have already said that they started phase 2/3 adaptive clinical trials for Sputnik V vaccine in India after receiving the necessary authorization from the Central Medicines Laboratory, Kasauli. in Himachal.
In September 2020, Dr. Reddys and RDIF partnered to conduct clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine and the rights to distribute the first 100 million doses in India.
The pharmaceutical company Hetero also has a link with RDIF to manufacture more than 100 million doses of Sputnik V per year.
City-based companies also played a crucial role in supplying drugs and bulk formulations for some of the prescription drugs for Covid-19 such as Remdesivir and Favipiravir.
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