India’s first coronavirus vaccine, COVAXIN, has been successfully developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the National Institute of Virology (NIV) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
NIV, Pune had isolated the novel coronavirus and transferred to Bharat Biotech.
Bharat Biotech developed and manufactured the indigenous, inactivated vaccine for Covid-19 at its Hyderabad based Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) High Containment facility.
After the company submitted results from preclinical studies demonstrating safety and immune response, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)- the Drug Controller General of India and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare approved the company to initiate Phase I & II Human clinical trials for the vaccine.
Dr. Krishna Ella, Managing Director and Chairman of Bharat Biotech, said the collaboration with NIV and ICMR was instrumental in the development of India’s first indigenous vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the COVAXIN. CDSCO approved this project with proactive guidance and support. To deploy company’s proprietary technologies towards this platform, its R&D and Manufacturing teams worked tirelessly, he added.
Bharat Biotech accelerated its goal of completing the comprehensive preclinical studies by expediting it through national regulatory protocols. The study demonstrated promising results with an effective immune response
and extensive safety. The human trials for the vaccine are expected to begin in July across India.Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the scientists of the University of Wisconsin, is simultaneously working to develop a nasal vaccine for Covid-19, called CoroFlu.
The company’s ongoing research and expertise in forecasting epidemics had enabled it to manufacture a vaccine for the H1N1 pandemic successfully, said Suchitra Ella, the Joint Managing Director of Bharat Biotech.
In addition to India’s first coronavirus vaccine, several other vaccines for Rabies, Rotavirus, Polio, Zika, Japanese Encephalitis, and Chikungunya are also manufactured by Bharat Biotech.
India has 548,318 coronavirus cases till now and has witnessed 16,475 deaths due to COVID-19.
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