Bharat Biotech's coronavirus vaccine could be out by February 2021
The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech could be launched by February, months earlier than expected, an official from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told Reuters on Thursday. Earlier, it was said the vaccine won't be rolled out before the second quarter of 2021. Dubbed COVAXIN, the vaccine was found to be safe for use in trials, the company had declared.
Vaccine has shown good efficacy: Government official
ICMR's Rajni Kant told Reuters that the vaccine has shown promising results so far. "The vaccine has shown good efficacy. It is expected that by the beginning of next year, February or March, something would be available," Rajni Kant, who is also a member of ICMR's coronavirus task force, said. However, Bharat Biotech didn't confirm or deny the projected timeline.
Government could administer doses in an emergency situation
Reiterating that results from phases I and II trials, as well as animal studies, were favorable Rajni Kant said, "It's safe but you can't be 100% sure unless phase three trials are over." He added, "There may be some risk, if you are ready to take the risk, you can take the vaccine." The Centre could consider administering the vaccine in an emergency situation.
"Phase I's data heartening, analysis of phase II underway"
Earlier, Sai Prasad, Executive Director, Bharat Biotech International Limited, had informed that the trials graduated to the third phase after requisite permission from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). "Our goal is to develop and deliver to the world a safe and effective vaccine. Phase I data for neutralizing antibodies had shown good immunogenicity. Analysis of Phase II data is on," he had said.
Earlier, Bharat Biotech had hinted results won't be out soon
"The phase three efficacy data will be available approximately at the end of Q1 in 2021, after which we will apply for regulatory approval. We will continue on to phase IV which routinely follows up the participants for a few years," Prasad had said.
Speed needed, but safety won't be compromised, said company
Although Prasad agreed that an early vaccine is what everyone needs, Bharat Biotech won't be rushing. "We are committed to conducting our research in the most ethical and scientific manner. We are focused on safety and efficacy and we look to apply for approval in 2021," he had said. He revealed the company is looking to involve 25,000-26,000 participants in the third phase of trials.
Bharat Biotech has put hundreds of crores at stake
To note, the Hyderabad-based company is investing Rs. 350-400 crore for developing the vaccine. "Currently, we have built capacities to manufacture 200 million doses of vaccine. We plan to further enhance our capacities to 500 million doses," Prasad had said. While the vaccine will be provided to both government and private markets, Bharat Biotech is also looking at supplying the vaccine to other countries.
Separately, SII claimed vaccine could be available by January 2021
Earlier, Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with British pharma giant AstraZeneca to mass produce the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, said India could have the doses by January 2021. CEO Adar Poonawalla said the availability will depend on approvals from the Indian government and the success of trials. He also assured the vaccine will be affordable.
