Hyderabad: Vaccine Capital of the World | Photo Credit: Representative Image
Amid the sadness caused by COVID-19, one sector that provided a glimmer of hope was the life sciences and, by turning challenge into opportunity, Hyderabad strengthened its position as a global force in the world of pharmaceuticals. .
Already recognized as a global information technology destination, this southern city demonstrated its prowess in the field of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology and emerged as the world capital of vaccines.
Hyderabad, already known as the bulk pharmaceutical capital of India, witnessed the manufacture of life-saving COVID-19 drugs like Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, and Favipiravir by some of the major pharmaceutical companies based here.
This was followed by intense efforts in the city to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. In fact, Hyderabad has become the nerve center of all research and development activities in the country for COVID-19 vaccines and has even attracted international attention.
Today, nearly all the vaccines being developed in the country for the pandemic have a connection to Hyderabad.
Four of the six companies developing COVID vaccines in India are based in Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech is currently conducting phase III clinical trials of India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin.
Covaxin is being developed in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV). This indigenous inactivated vaccine is being developed and manufactured at Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) biocontainment facility in Genome Valley here.
According to Bharat Biotech, Covaxin has been evaluated in approximately 1,000 subjects in phase I and phase II clinical trials, with promising results for safety and immunogenicity.
Phase III human clinical trials of the vaccine began in November, involving 26,000 volunteers across India. This is India’s first and only phase III efficacy study for a COVID-19 vaccine, and the largest phase III efficacy trial ever conducted for any vaccine in India.
“Covaxin has sparked the interest of several countries around the world for supplies and introduction,” said Suchitra Ella, Deputy General Manager of Bharat Biotech.
In April, Bharat Biotech announced the development of CoroFlu, an intranasal vaccine for the coronavirus. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the vaccine company FluGen along with Bharat Biotech began development and testing of CoroFlu. The Hyderabad-based company will produce nearly 300 million doses of vaccine for global distribution.
In May, Bharat Biotech and Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University signed an exclusive agreement to develop a new candidate vaccine for COVID-19 invented in Jefferson. The new vaccine was developed using an existing inactivated rabies vaccine as a carrier for coronavirus proteins.
Bharat Biotech claimed to have an excellent track record of innovation with more than 140 global patents, a broad product portfolio of more than 16 vaccines, 4 biotherapeutics, registrations in more than 116 countries, and WHO prequalifications.
So far, the company has developed vaccines for H1N1, rotavirus, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, chikungunya, Zika, and the world’s first conjugate vaccine for typhoid fever. It has administered more than four billion doses of vaccines around the world. It is also the largest manufacturer of rabies vaccines in the world.
Another city-based company, Biological E, started a clinical trial of its COVID-19 subunit vaccine candidate in India last month following approval by the Comptroller General of Drugs of India (DCGI).
BE is manufacturing the vaccine in collaboration with Dynavax Technologies Corporation (Dynavax), a US-based vaccine-focused biopharmaceutical company, and Baylor College of Medicine, a health sciences university in Houston.
Biological E has also signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to produce the latter’s vaccine at its vaccine production facilities and sell them both in India and for export to various world markets.
Indian Immunologicals, a manufacturer of vaccines for humans and animals, is also developing a vaccine for COVID.
Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories is conducting clinical trials of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V. Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, has collaborated with Dr. Reddy’s to conduct clinical trials and distribute the vaccine in India.
Hyderabad was the center of attention with recent visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ambassadors from more than 60 countries to the Bharat Biotech and Biological E facility in Genome Valley.
Telangana Industry Minister KT Rama Rao believes Hyderabad has consolidated its position as the vaccine capital of the world.
He noted that Hyderabad is already manufacturing more than two billion doses of vaccines each year, which is a third of the world’s vaccine production.
The city, with its strong ecosystem, has played a critical role in making India not only self-sufficient in drug manufacturing, but also made it the pharmaceutical capital of the world. It accounts for 40 percent of India’s total bulk drugs and 50 percent of bulk drug exports.
Industry leaders believe that Hyderabad will be an integral part of global efforts to vaccinate the world against COVID.
Even if a vaccine is not developed in the city, the city will continue to have an important role to play in global vaccination efforts with the large vaccine manufacturing capacity it houses.
Hyderabad has the largest FDA approved vaccine facilities in the US They have the capacity to manufacture millions of doses to world-class standards.
“India’s vaccine industry will play a critical role in developing and producing vaccines at scale for worldwide distribution. Hyderabad’s importance in the global vaccine landscape is only growing,” said KT Rama Rao. .
The Telangana government has assured companies that it will play an enabling role in global COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
Hyderabad airport announced a few days ago that it has developed the necessary infrastructure to handle exports.
According to industry knowledge, most of India’s vaccine exports will be in Africa, Latin America and Asian destinations.
Hyderabad is already home to more than 800 life sciences companies and the sector employs more than 120,000 pharmaceutical professionals.
It is said to be the only city in the country that is home to more than 20 incubation centers focused solely on life sciences and health technology. More than 200 startups are also working on innovative solutions for healthcare.
Genome Valley is India’s first organized group for life science R&D activities spread over 600 square kilometers. Established in 1999, it has world-class infrastructure facilities in the form of knowledge / industrial parks, special economic zones (SEZs), multi-tenant wet and dry laboratories, and incubation facilities.
It is home to more than 200 companies, including the presence of major global names such as Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, Ferring Pharma, Chemo, DuPont, Ashland, United States Pharmacopeia and Lonza.
With the possibility of Hyderabad Pharma City coming online soon as well, the city is looking to increase production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and thereby develop a group to help the country compete with China.
The new project is expected to create 1,70,000 direct jobs and 5,60,000 indirect jobs.
