Two vaccines for novel coronavirus disease, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Oxford Institute’s Covishield, received emergency approval from the drug regulator on Sunday. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) VG Somani said that the vaccines are “110 per cent safe,” adding Covishield was found to be 70.42 percent effective and Covaxin was “safe and provides a robust immune response”.
Serum Institute of India (SII) is producing Covishield vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. While Bharat Biotech has developed Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.
Here is a list of other vaccine candidates in India:
ZyCoV-D: Zydus Cadila will begin the Phase 3 clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine after it received permission from the DCGI. The vaccine is being developed in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology.
NVX-COV-2373: NVX-COV-2373 is a prefusion protein coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by SII in collaboration with Novavax. The Phase 3 trial of the vaccine candidate is under consideration.
Sputnik V: The Sputnik V was the first coronavirus vaccine registered in Russia and the world. Currently, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories is conducting Phase II and III clinical trials of the Russian vaccine. On November 24 last year, Russia had claimed that its vaccine is 91.4 percent effective against the virus. Till now, more than 100,000 people have been vaccinated.
HGCO19: The novel mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19, is India’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine. It is being developed by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals in collaboration with US’ HDT Biotech Corporation. According to a report in Mint, Gennova will start phase 1 of the clinical trial of its vaccine by early January.
Biological E Limited vaccine: The Hyderabad-based Biological E Ltd is developing a COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with US-based Dynavax Technologies Corp and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The privately held company had started its early-stage and mid-stage human trials in November and expects results by February.
Aurobindo Pharma vaccine: Last month, Aurobindo Pharma said that it had entered into an agreement to develop and manufacture US Firm COVAXX’s coronavirus vaccine candidate in India. It has also announced its own COVID-19 vaccine development programme through its United States subsidiary Auro Vaccines.
