The Coronavirus pandemic is still spreading like wildfire without any coronavirus vaccine as the world records over 6 million cases over the last few months. Currently, India stands at the fourth-highest position of countries affected by the pandemic. The disease did not spare any nation all over the world. The numbers of the disease continue to rise however, there is a bit of hope left.
This ray of hope comes from India as the country’s first COVID-19 vaccine candidate is administered a trial dose developed by Bharat Biotech India (BBIL). Bharat Biotech is a Hyderabad-based biotechnology firm that works closely with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) to make the final coronavirus vaccine.
COVAXIN™, India's 1st indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech successfully enters human trials.
@ICMRDELHI @DBTIndia @icmr_niv #BharatBiotech #COVAXIN #covid19 #Collaboration #Indiafightscorona #makeinindia #ICMR #coronavirusvaccine pic.twitter.com/MSehntuE8d
— BharatBiotech (@BharatBiotech) June 29, 2020
Coronavirus vaccine developed in India by BBIL
India’s drug control authority, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has allowed BBIL to hold Phase I and II of human clinical trials, which are scheduled to start across India in July.
Covaxin is the first indigenous vaccine candidate to fight against the novel coronavirus, created and developed by BBIL. It is the first vaccine candidate to be approved for human trials.
According to the firm, “The SARS-CoV-2 strain was isolated in NIV, Pune and transferred to Bharat Biotech. The indigenous inactivated vaccine was developed and manufactured in Bharat Biotech’s BSL-3 (Bio-Safety Level 3) High Containment facility located in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, India.”
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After having undergone a series of pre-clinical testing, involving multiple animal trials, the firm approached the drug control authorities i.e. CDSCO, for approval to proceed to the next level of testing, consisting of human clinical trials. WHO is also testing multiple trial vaccines for curing COVID-19.
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Suryapratim Ray is an engineer, author, robotics hobbyist, and an active Quoran. Being a technical blogger, he covers the good, bad, and ugly of science on a regular basis at Sciencenews18. In addition to his passion for writing, he’s equally keen on learning classical music.