India: ICMR and Bharat Biotech to fight coronavirus by trying their hands on finding a vaccine

India on the move

Tuesday, 12th May 2020

Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) is to tie up with Bharat Biotech over the weekend, a Hyderebad-based company in order to enhance “a fully indigenous vaccine” for coronavirus.

ICMR stated that a strain of the virus has been isolated at National Institute of Virology, Pune, and now has been shifted to Bharat Biotech. Both together, are to work on developing a vaccine. ICMR said that “continuous support” will be provided to Bharat Biotech and is to seek “fast-track” approvals on every stage, inclusive of animal and human trials.

ICMR is working on many other researches like a “global trial of potential drugs” that is run by WHO.

Zydus Cadila, Ahmedabad-based company has apparently started working on vaccines which are still in pre-clinical research as per the global database of World Health Organization. Serum Institute of India, Pune, has collaborated with two international companies, one of them being University of Oxford for developing a vaccine. Serum Institute of India is all set to mass-produce the vaccine.

Bharat Biotech is set to mass-produce a vaccine that is still under pre-clinical research, in collaboration with ICMR and a US University.

Developing vaccines usually take several years. However, the scientists are making a combined effort all over the world to speed up the process as the nature of coronavirus is highly unpredictable. Globally, eight potential vaccines have started entering human trials- four in China, two in the US and one each in Germany and the UK.

However, these vaccines will definitely take time to hit the market, according to the experts.

Source: India Today