Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm, Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), has developed India’s first COVID-19 vaccine and has gotten a nod from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct Phase I and II human trials. The permission for human clinical trials was granted by DCGI after Bharat Biotech submitted results generated from preclinical studies, demonstrating safety and immune response.
COVAXIN is an indigenously developed inactivated vaccine. An inactivated vaccine is prepared by growing the virus on a large scale and injecting an inactive form of it inside a human body to gain immunity.
The human clinical trials are scheduled to commence in July across the country, and the results will be out by October. However, details about when will it be launched and at what price, have not been disclosed. “The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune, and transferred to Bharat Biotech. The indigenous inactivated vaccine was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India”, the company said.
Bharat Biotech has been in the vanguard of creating breakthrough vaccines & therapeutics for challenging diseases for over two decades. Earlier it launched India’s first indigenously developed cell culture H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine. With its promising research over time, India’s hopes are high with COVAXIN.
