Serum institute begins Covovax clinical trials in India, vaccine may launch by September
The development and commercialisation pact between Novavax and SII excludes major upper-middle and high-income countries as they retain the rights
Image credit: AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Saturday said clinical trials of COVID-19
vaccine Covovax have begun in India and the company hopes to launch it by September this year In August 2020, US-based vaccine maker Novavax, Inc had announced a licence agreement with SII for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and India. "Covovax trials finally begin in India; the vaccine is made through a partnership with Novavax and SerumInstIndia. It has been tested against African and UK variants of #COVID19 and has an overall efficacy of 89 percent. Hope to launch by September 2021!," Poonawalla said in a tweet.
The development and commercialisation pact between Novavax and SII excludes major upper-middle and high-income countries, for which Novavax continues to retain rights
In January this year, Poonawalla had said SII expected to launch Covovax by June 2021
"Our partnership for a COVID-19 vaccine with @Novavax has also published excellent efficacy results. We have also applied to start trials in India. Hope to launch #COVOVAX by June 2021!", Poonawalla had said in a tweet
SII is already supplying AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, in India and to other countries across the world.
also read
Over 3.25 million vaccine doses administered on 22 March, highest single-day vaccination so far, says Centre
Out of these, 29,03,030 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 48,345 sessions for the first dose and 3,50,065 healthcare workers (HCWs) and frontline workers (FLWs) received the second dose of vaccine
Russia, China reject notion they are using COVID-19 vaccines to increase political influence
Critics in the West accuse them of trying to improve their influence, while Moscow and Beijing say Western countries are hoarding vaccines.
Moderna to begin COVID-19 vaccine trials for children under the age of 12
The benefits of vaccinating children are direct like preventing rare serious pediatric Covid-19 and MIS-C but also indirect like limiting spread.