NEW DELHI : Bharat Biotech International Ltd will use the adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II to stimulate the immune response and provide longer-lasting immunity for its new coronavirus candidate vaccine, Covaxin, the company said in a statement Monday. The adjuvant is used under a license agreement signed with ViroVax LLC, based in the USA.
An adjuvant is a substance that is added to a vaccine to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity for a longer time, which in turn reduces the dose of antigen required for vaccination.
“Our partnership with ViroVax resonates with Bharat Biotech’s tireless efforts to develop safe and effective vaccines along with long-term immunity,” said Bharat Biotech President and Managing Director Krishna Ella.
ViroVax is supported by funding from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is among the agencies leading the covid-19 response in the US.
Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine derived from a strain of the SARS-CoV2 virus, isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) of the Indian Council of Medical Research in Pune.
Bharat Biotech is currently conducting phase II human trials of Covaxin after receiving approval from the Controller General of Medicines of India (DCGI) VG Somani. The company aims to produce around 200 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine at its Hyderabad facility once it receives regulatory approval.
She said that the Alhydroxiquim-II adjuvant is different from an adjuvant like aluminum hydroxide, which is the commonly used adjuvant for covid-19 vaccines, as it induces a Th1-based response and not a Th2-based response that has a Theoretical vaccine risk associated with improved respiratory diseases.
A Th1 response aims to increase cell-mediated immunity against disease, which primarily involves the secretion of cells from the immune system to infection or the accumulation of dead or damaged cells. On the other hand, the Th2 response leads to humoral immunity, which leads to the secretion of antibodies.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is one of three vaccines currently in human trials in India, with the other two being Covishield from the Serum Institute of India, jointly developed by the University of Oxford and Astrazeneca plc from the UK, and the indigenous ZyCoV-D vaccine from Zydus Cadila.
On Sunday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government aims to vaccinate an estimated 200-250 million people in India with around 400-500 million doses by July 2021.
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