Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pune-based pharmaceutical company Serum Institute of India (SII), said Wednesday that a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is likely to be available in the country by January. of 2021, as long as approvals from regulatory bodies are current on time.
In an interview with Mint, Poonawalla said: “Based on the success of the trials in India and the UK, and if the approvals from the regulatory bodies are in place in time, we can expect the vaccine to be available in India by January 2021 ., only if it is immunogenic and effective “.
SII is working in collaboration with major British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to produce the potential Covid-19 Covishield vaccine.
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Covishield, developed by the University of Oxford, is currently in phase 2/3 clinical trial in the country and will be produced by SII for low- and middle-income countries.
Poonawalla said the vaccine injection has so far been administered to thousands of people in India and abroad with no safety concerns. However, he added that it will take two to three years to determine the long-term effects of the vaccine.
According to a report published in the British medical journal The Lancet, the possible Covid-19 vaccine produced a dual immune response in people between the ages of 18 and 55. AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have said that a two-dose regimen is more promising, while a one-dose injection is also being tested in trials.
The CEO of the world’s largest drug manufacturing company also said the company is in talks with the government about the price of the vaccine and assured that it will be available at a reasonable price. “We are confident that it will be affordable for everyone,” he said.
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IBS aims to make 60 to 70 million doses and roll it out to 100 million doses of the vaccine per month, Poonawalla said, adding: “We should be able to get there in the next few months.
The pharmaceutical firm also partnered with Gavi, Vaccine Alliance, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the manufacturing and delivery process of up to 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for India and other third world countries. .
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