BENGALURU (Reuters) – Serum Institute India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, on Thursday said it had made 40 million doses of the potential COVID-19 vaccine of AstraZeneca and would soon start making rival shots of Novavax as they both received regulatory approval.
No COVID-19 vaccine has yet been approved and trials are underway to prove it is safe and effective, leading drug manufacturers have been funded to start production as soon as possible, as the epidemic has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide. Has landed.
AstraZeneca AZN.L Said last week it was delaying the delivery of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate while awaiting data from late-stage clinical trials, which have been delayed due to summer drowning in the UK’s coronavirus infection.
Serum declined to comment on whether the 40 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were for global supply or for India alone.
For the production of Novavax NVX.O. Vaccine, Serum said he has received a large portion of the vaccine from a US company and will soon be finished filling them in vials.
Novavax, which tested its vaccine in a late-stage study in the UK, said last month that it was delaying the expansion of the manufacturing process. The start of the trial was postponed for about a month.
Serum said it has registered 1,600 participants in India for the end-stage test of the AstraZeneca candidate, and also plans to seek regulatory approval to run late-stage tests for the NovavX vaccine.
The AstraZeneca vaccine, co-developed by Oxford University, is the most advanced in human testing in India, Serum said, adding that the company and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon make the shot available in India.
The ICMR, a federal government agency, funded a clinical trial site fee for the AstraZeneca vaccine, Serum said. The company and ICMR are currently conducting phase 2/3 clinical trials at 15 centers in India.
Coronavirus infection in India, the world’s second worst-affected country, reached 8.68 million on Thursday, bringing the death toll to more than 128,000.
There are also at least two domestic COVID-19 vaccine candidates for development in India, while local drug manufacturer Dr. REDY.NS Russia is conducting a trial in the country for a vaccine candidate.
Earlier this week, Pfizer P.F.E.N. And its partner Bioentech 22UAy.DE Said their vaccine candidates have proven to be more than 90% effective based on preliminary trial results. Pfizer said it is committed to furthering its engagement with the Indian government to supply its potential vaccine to the country.
Report by Sachin Ravikumar; Edited by Myong Kim and Michael Perry
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