Krishna Ella, CMD, Bharat Biotech International, said India achieving the one billion mark in Covid vaccination in nine months was “remarkable”.
He said this was possible due to the unified effort of the government, vaccine manufacturers, healthcare workers and all vaccinated citizens, making it a true success story of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Covaxin, the first desi vaccine of Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, is being administered in the country, along with Serum Institute’s Covishield and Russian vaccine Sputnik V.
Additional capacity
The supply of the two-dose, intramuscular Covaxin is expected to be ramped up soon, as the company expects to reach a monthly production capacity of 55 million doses by this month end, with additional capacity coming in from its Bengaluru plant.
With timely production from partners, the Hyderabad-based company expects to reach 100 million doses per month by the end of this year, Ella had said earlier.
The share of Covaxin in vaccinating the remaining population will go up, as it has also been recommended for emergency use in the 2-18 age group.
The vaccine maker had submitted data from clinical trials in the 2-18 age group for Covaxin (BBV152) to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The data have been thoroughly reviewed by the CDSCO and SEC, and they have provided their positive recommendations, said Bharat Biotech a couple of weeks ago. It now awaits final approval from the Drugs Controller General of India in this regard.
Bharat Biotech also completed the Phase I trials of its intranasal vaccine with a new approach of using a single dose of intra-muscular Covaxin and one dose of the nasal vaccine in a method called heterologous prime boost. It has started the process for Phase II trials now.
Global reach
The company is in the process of obtaining Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization, and is in constant dialogue with the global health agency, responding to its requests for additional data on Covaxin. The Technical Advisory Group of the WHO is slated to review the data on October 26 to decide on its application for EUL.
It is also making efforts to get approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) through its US partner, Ocugen.