COVID-19 has eaten up the better part of 2020 for everyone across the globe with massive damage to the global healthcare system. With over 14 million people infected and over 600,000 dead, India accounts for 1.1 million of those infected. We are the third-worst affected country, not a list anyone wants to feature at the top of. It’s no surprise that India is also part of the race to come up with a COVID-19 vaccine. India is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of generic medicines and vaccines. Here’s a look at 7 Indian companies working on a COVID-19 vaccine:
Covaxin, Bharat Biotech
The vaccine has been developed and manufactured in Hyderabad. Bharat Biotech started human trials of Covaxin last week after receiving approval to conduct phase I and II clinical trial for its vaccine candidate.
AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India
The vaccine candidate is undergoing phase III clinical trials. The institute said it will start human trials in India in August 2020 and is hoping that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be available by the end of the year for administration to the public.
ZyCoV-D, Zydus Cadila
The pharmaceutical major said that it is looking to complete clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D in the next seven months. The company started its clinical trials with the first human dosing last week.
Vaccine candidate from Panacea Biotec
Panacea Biotec has set up a joint venture firm in Ireland with US-based Refana Inc for the purpose. It will manufacture over 500 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate which still remains unnamed. Over 40 million doses are expected to be available for delivery early next year, it said.
Indian Immunologicals Vaccine
It is a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board. Indian Immunologicals has inked an agreement with Australia’s Griffith University to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
Mynvax
Mynvax is working on a vaccine candidate which is expected to be developed in 18 months. It has petitioned Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) for Rs 15 crore grant. The vaccine candidate is still in the stages of the pre-clinical trial.
Biological E
The vaccine candidate being developed by the company is currently at the pre-clinical trial level.
