The US multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer has said it remains “committed to working with the Government of India to explore opportunities” to make the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the novel coronavirus available in the country.
In a statement, a Pfizer spokesperson said: “We are currently in discussions with many governments around the world and remain committed to working with the Government of India and exploring opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country. “.
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The world’s leading pharmaceutical company is committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to have access to the Covid-19 vaccine and is working closely with governments, the statement added.
“During this pandemic phase, Pfizer will supply this vaccine only through government contracts based on agreements with the respective government authorities and after authorization or regulatory approval,” he said.
UK approves Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
The Pfizer vaccine, which has been approved by Great Britain, reported an efficacy rate of more than 90%. The UK Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted a temporary authorization for the emergency use of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.
Britain jumped ahead of the United States and Europe to become the first country in the world to formally back a coup that it said should reach the most vulnerable people early next week.
This marks the first emergency use authorization after a global phase 3 trial of a vaccine to help fight the pandemic, Pfizer said Wednesday.
“As we anticipate more authorizations and approvals, we are focused on moving forward with the same level of urgency to safely deliver a high-quality vaccine around the world,” Pfizer President and CEO Albert Bourla said Wednesday.
Another global Covid-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Moderna Inc, which has also not applied for permission to conduct clinical trials in India, reported 94.1%.
The arrival of the Pfizer vaccine in India
In November, NITI member Aayog (Health) VK Paul, who also heads the National Task Force on Coronavirus, had said that the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine in the country could take a few months, the news agency reported. PTI.
“Arranging cold chains to store the vaccine developed by Pfizer at a low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius is a huge challenge and will not be easy for any nation. But then, if it is to be sourced, we are examining what we have to do … and we will work out a strategy, “he had said.
The Indian government reportedly did not hold talks with Pfizer in August and there has been no progress since then as the country focuses on five other candidates, including one developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford and produced by the Serum Institute of Pune India. .
A few days ago, AstraZeneca said that its candidate, Covishield, could be around 90% effective when following one of two dosing regimens. The mean efficacy of two regimens was 70%.
Covishield, the head of the list of candidate vaccines likely to be launched in the country, will be drawn up by the SII, which has pledged to make available at least 100 million doses by the end of January and hundreds of millions by the end of January. . February.
The Serum Institute has said it will apply for the emergency use license for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in two weeks.
In addition, a phase 3 clinical trial of the candidate vaccine developed in India by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council for Medical Research is underway.
Meanwhile, the Zydus Cadila candidate vaccine has completed the phase 2 clinical trial and the pharmaceutical firm Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has started the combined phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in India.
With contributions from the agency
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