Aurobindo Pharma ties up with BIRAC to develop COVID-19 vaccine

Aurobindo Pharma on Tuesday announced collaboration with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), set up by the Department of Biotechnology for the development of COVID-19 vaccine.

BIRAC has facilitated the establishment of 'the r-VSV vaccine' manufacturing platform for the first time in India by supporting Aurobindo Pharma’s COVID-19 vaccine development, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Aurobindo Pharma said it is developing a vaccine for COVID-19 through its wholly-owned US subsidiary, Auro Vaccines.

The vaccine candidate is based on a proprietary vaccine delivery platform of the company.

"Aurobindo is in the process of setting up a state-of-art manufacturing facility for viral vaccineswhich will be used to produce the COVID-19 vaccine and other viral vaccines. The plant will comply with global standards. The company’s COVID-19 vaccine development is going as per plan,” the filing added.

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Commenting on the collaboration, Aurobindo Pharma Managing Director N Govindarajan said, "It is a matter of immense pride that BIRAC has placed its trust on our vaccine capabilities. The senior leadership of Aurobindo and Auro Vaccines has extensive experience in development, production and commercialization of several vaccines.”

Department of Biotechnology Secretary and BIRAC Chairperson Renu Swarup said the partnership with Aurobindo is to serve the country’s need for a vaccine to fight this pandemic.

"The government is focussed on creating an ecosystem that nurtures and encourages new product innovation to address the most relevant issues to our society,” Swarup added.

Bharat Biotech, Serum Institute, Zydus Cadila, Panacea Biotec, Indian Immunologicals, Mynvax and Biological E are among the pharma firms in India working on the coronavirus vaccine.