Bharat Biotech-ICMR to launch Covaxin
Friday, 3rd July 2020
Bharat Biotech International Limited and the Indian Council of Medical Research’s joint venture of finding a vaccine for coronavirus has taken a step forward. An indigenous vaccine called Covaxin is now almost ready to be launched by 15th of August for the people. The companies are waiting for the clinical trials to get over.
12 institutes have been selected by the ICMR for conducting clinical trial of India’s first indigenous vaccine (BBV152 COVID vaccine) for Covid-19. The vaccine will be out in the market for the public by 15th of August, 2020 once the trials have been completed, the ICMR wrote in a letter, said PTI.
The ICMR has urged the selected 12 institutes to hurry up with the clinical trials considering them as one of the top priority projects supervised by the government.
The end result will rely on coordination and cooperation of all of the trial sites involved, ICMR said to the institutes.
Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad-based company developed an indigenous vaccine in a joint venture with the ICMR and National Institute of Virology. The strain SARS-CoV-2 was isolated in Pune’s NIV and transported to Bharat Biotech.
Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility situated in Hyderabad’s Genome Valley developed and produced this inactivated vaccine.
Permission to start Phase I & II Human clinical trials was granted by the Drug Controller General of India- Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare after the report of the outcomes were submitted by the company, showing safety and immune response.
Source: India Today