New Delhi: At least seven Indian pharma companies are working to develop a vaccine against coronavirus. They have joined global efforts to find a preventive to check the spread of the deadly virus. Coornavirus has already infected more than 14 million globally.
Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute, Zydus Cadila, Panacea Biotec, Indian Immunologicals, Mynvax and Biological E are working round the clock to find out a vaccine.
Vaccines normally require years of testing and additional time to produce at scale. However, scientists are hoping to develop a coronavirus vaccine within months because of the pandemic.
Bharat Biotech has received approval to conduct phase I and II clinical trial for its vaccine candidate ‘Covaxin’ It has been developed and manufactured in the company’s facility in Hyderabad. It last week started human clinical trials.
Leading vaccine major Serum Institute of India has said that it is hoping to develop a COVID-19 vaccine by the year-end.
“At present, we are working on the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine which is undergoing phase III clinical trials. In addition to this, we will also start human trials in India in August 2020. Based on the current situation and most recent updates on the clinical trials, we are optimistic. We are hoping that the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine will be available towards the end of this year. It is a positive sign indeed,” Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla said.
“The company is also developing a live attenuated vaccine with US-based biotech firm Codagenix. The vaccine is undergoing pre-clinical trials. We have associated with multiple institutions worldwide as manufacturing partners for vaccine candidates. These include Austria’s Themis along with two others,” Poonawalla added.
Poonawalla also talked regarding the association with AstraZeneca. “Serum Institute has entered a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca. It will help us to produce and supply one billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University,” Poonawala informed.
Pharma major Zydus Cadila is also working to develop a vaccine. It said that it is looking to complete clinical trials of its vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D in seven months. The company had last week started clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate with the first human dosing.
It could take seven months for the trials to be completed and for the vaccine to be launched, Zydus Cadila chairman Pankaj R Patel said
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech last week started human trials of its vaccine ‘Covaxin’. The trials are being conducted at Rohtak’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences.
Panacea Biotec in June said that it was setting up a joint venture firm in Ireland with US-based Refana Inc. It also is trying to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The company in partnership with Refana aims to manufacture over 500 million doses of COVID-19 candidate vaccine. It said that over 40 million doses expected to be available for delivery early next year.
Indian Immunologicals has inked an agreement with Australia’s Griffith University to develop a vaccine for coronavirus. Others like ‘ynvax and Biological E are also working to develop vaccines for COVID-19.
Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is tracking around 140 vaccines candidates. Out of them around two dozen are in various phases of human clinical trials.
Agencies
