The government has said that it will be making an advance payment of Rs 1500 crore for COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax, the first such order for unapproved shots. (Representative image)

The central government has inked a deal with domestic vaccine maker Biological-E for 30 crore doses of its COVID-19 vaccine called Corbevax, which is currently undergoing phase- 3 clinical trials after showing promising results in phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.

The government has said that it will be making an advance payment of Rs 1,500 crore for the vaccines, the first such order for unapproved shots. It is likely to be available in the next few months, the union health ministry said in a statement issued on June 3.

Once the vaccine gets emergency use approval (EUA) and is launched, it could potentially be the cheapest COVID-19 vaccine available in India, reported News18.

How Corbevax works?

Corbevax being developed by Biological-E is a recombinant protein subunit vaccine, which means it is made up of a specific part of the novel coronavirus, which is spike protein.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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The government has extended substantial help to get this vaccine out, said the health ministry in the release. The arrangement with Biological-E is part of the wider endeavour of the Government of India to encourage indigenous vaccine manufacturers by providing them support in research and development (R&D) and also financial support, it said.

“Biological-E COVID Vaccine candidate has been supported by Government of India from preclinical stage to phase-3 studies. Department of Biotechnology has not only provided financial assistance in terms of grant-in-aid of over Rs 100 crore but has also partnered with Biological-E to conduct all animal challenge and assay studies through its Research Institute Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad,” the release stated.

This has been undertaken as part of the government's 'Mission COVID Suraksha, the Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission,' which was launched to reinforce and accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development efforts as part of the third stimulus package, Atmanirbhar 3.0, the statement said.

The mission aims to bring to the citizens a safe, efficacious, affordable and accessible COVID-19 vaccine. The mission is supporting the development of 5-6 COVID-19 vaccine candidates, it said, adding that some of these are now closer to licensure and introduction in public health systems.

Why does Corbevax matter?

Once launched, the vaccine is said to be the cheapest COVID-19 vaccine available in India with the two shots expected to be cumulatively priced below Rs 400, suggested the News18 report.

At present, India’s drug regulator has given emergency approval to three COVID-19 vaccines – Covishield developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII), Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Russia vaccine Sputnik V. All three vaccines cost between Rs 300 and Rs 1,000 per dose, as per the report.

When will Corbevax be launched?

According to the health ministry’s release, these vaccine doses will be manufactured and stockpiled by M/s Biological-E from August-December, 2021.

Biological E -- the manufacturer of Corbevax

Biological E Limited is a Hyderabad-based pharmaceuticals and biologics company. Founded in 1953, it is the first private sector biological products company in India and the first pharmaceutical company in Southern India. It develops, manufactures and supplies vaccines and therapeutics. Currently, it has 8 WHO-prequalified vaccines in its portfolio.

Follow our full coverage on COVID-19 here.

COVID-19: Know all about Biological-E’s Corbevax that could be India's cheapest vaccine against coronavirus

Corbevax is a recombinant protein subunit vaccine, which means it is made up of a specific part of the novel coronavirus, which is spike protein.

The government has said that it will be making an advance payment of Rs 1500 crore for COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax, the first such order for unapproved shots. (Representative image)

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