PremiumBharat Biotech has agreed to share the formulation of its covid-19 vaccine --covaxin with other manufacturers for increasing vaccine production, the government said on Thursday.
Amidst a shortage of covid-19 vaccines, especially covaxin, various recommendations from states have come forth regarding sharing of the formulation to boost production of vaccine, Bharat Biotech has welcomed this proposal, Dr VK Paul member (health) NITI Aayog member said during a press conference.
Premium Premium "There has been a suggestion from people that covaxin formula can be given to other companies for manufacturing. I am happy to say that Bharat Biotech the company manufacturing Covaxin has welcomed this when we discussed it with them. This vaccine is made by inactivating the live SARS CoV2 virus which is done only in BSL3 laboratories," said Paul.
"Not every company has this facility. Covaxin has been developed by Bharat Biotech in association with the Indian Council of Medical Research. We have already given this proposal to all companies and we again give an open invitation to companies who so ever wants to manufacture covaxin. The companies should do it together and the government is ready to assist in all possible ways," said Paul.
The development comes a day after Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said that Bharat Biotech informed the Delhi government that it cannot provide "additional" Covaxin doses to the national capital. The stock of Covaxin in Delhi has finished and as a result around 100 vaccination centres set up in 17 schools have been closed, he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also urged the centre to allow more companies in India to manufacture doses share covid-19 vaccine formulas with more than the allotted companies, so that more and more people in India are inoculated as soon as possible before the third wave of covid-19 strikes.
Multiple companies should be engaged in vaccine production, and the Central Government should take the formula for producing the vaccine from these two companies and give it to all those companies which can safely make the vaccines, said Kejriwal.
Covaxin was developed with seed strains received from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), and the phase 3 clinical trial was co-funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Earlier in April, in an early analysis of phase 3 clinical trials, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin showed a 78% efficacy rate against the coronavirus. The vaccine may also prove to be a promising protection for children against covid-19 in future as the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Thursday gave a green signal to Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech’s proposal to carry out a Phase- II/III clinical trial of covid-19 vaccine--Covaxin-- in the age group of 2 to 18 years. The trial will be conducted in 525 healthy volunteers.
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!
