American healthcare company Johnson & Johnson is in talks with the Government to initiate local trials to bring its Covid-19 vaccine to India. This would be a shot in the arm for the Covid-19 immunisation programme, as J&J’s is a single dose vaccine.
“We are in discussions with the Government of India with the objective of starting a bridging clinical study of our Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate in India, subject to local regulatory approvals,”a J&J India spokesperson confirmed.
J&J has a local production tie-up with Bological E and the latest development was expected following the stated support from United States President Biden’s administration during the Quad meet last month.
The vaccine has received the emergency use authorisation in the US in late February, with the WHO following close on its heels and giving similar approvals in mid-March.
The vaccine requires standard storage and distribution conditions, but has been receiving much attention internationally, for more than just its one-shot convenience. The vaccine’s global trials were done even as the South African and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus were on the rise. Further, the vaccine’s late stage trials were done on a diverse population.