India formally approved the emergency use of two vaccines against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as it prepares for one of the world’s largest campaigns and plans to inoculate some 300 million people on a priority list this year. India’s Comptroller General of Drugs VG Somani gave the green light for the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines, one developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and the other by local company Bharat Biotech. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it “a decisive turning point.”
Serum Institute of India (SII) is producing the Covishield vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. You are permitted for restricted use in an emergency situation subject to certain regulatory conditions. The clinical trial underway within the country by the firm will continue.
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Bharat Biotech has developed a Covaxin inactivated whole virion in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (Pune). “The Committee of Experts on the Subject has reviewed the data on safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine and recommended granting permission for restricted use in an emergency situation of public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, to have more options for vaccination especially in case of infection by mutant strains. The clinical trial that the firm is conducting within the country will continue, ”Somani said Sunday.
These are some of the other candidate vaccines in the country:
1. ZyCoV-D: The Zydus Cadila vaccine is being manufactured on the DNA platform and is called ZyCoV-D. Cadila has collaborated with the Department of Biotechnology for this. DCGI has given its approval to the Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical firm to begin phase III clinical trials of its Covid-19 ZyCoV-D vaccine.
2. Sputnik V – This is a vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute of Russia. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is conducting Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, while Biological E is conducting Phase 1 of its indigenously developed vaccine candidate. Russia said on Nov. 24 last year that its Sputnik V vaccine was 91.4% effective based on the results of interim tests at the last stage. It began vaccinating in August and has so far inoculated more than 100,000 people. India plans to produce 300 million doses of Sputnik V this year.
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3. NVX-Cov 2373: NVX-COV-2373 is being developed by the Serum Institute of India in collaboration with the American company NovaVax. Phase 3 trial under study.
4. Biological E Limited Vaccine: Biological E Ltd plans to start large, late stage trials of its potential Covid-19 vaccine candidate in April this year. The private Hyderabad-based company said in November that it had begun early and mid-stage human trials of its candidate vaccine, which is being developed in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and the United States-based Dynavax Technologies Corp. , and expect results. in February.
5. HGCO19: The new mRNA candidate vaccine, HGCO19, has been developed by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, based in Pune, and supported by an initial grant from the Ind-CEPI mission of the department of biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Union . Gennova has worked in collaboration with HDT Biotech Corporation of the USA to develop the mRNA vaccine candidate. Gennova will begin the phase 1 clinical trial of its indigenous vaccine candidate with the enrollment of 120 participants beginning in early January, Mint reported in December last year.
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6. Second vaccine from Bharat Biotech: Bharat Biotech International Ltd is developing another vaccine in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University, USA, which is in the preclinical stages.
7. Aurobindo Pharma Vaccine: Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has announced its own Covid-19 vaccine development program through its US subsidiary Auro Vaccines. Profectus BioSciences is developing such a vaccine, which uses the recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (RVSV) vector platform. This vaccine is still in the preclinical phase. Aurobindo Pharma has said it will also manufacture and sell the United States-based COVAXX’s Covid-19 candidate vaccine for supply in India and to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) under a license agreement.
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