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India not far behind in the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine: 6 companies taking the lead

India not far behind in the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine: 6 companies taking the lead
A vaccine at scale is likely by the end of the year or early next year, says Anthony Fauci, head of NIAID.

Pune-based Serum Institute of India plans to start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks. Read to know the 5 other Indian companies working on a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Published : April 28, 2020 3:03 PM IST

Several vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are under development in many countries. While a WHO report says there are now 70 candidate vaccines in development, some media reports suggest a much higher number. The UK is apparently at the forefront in the global search for a vaccine. Recently, the country announced a 20 million pounds funding for a University of Oxford project working on developing a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. The vaccine, called ChAdOX1, has already began human trials and it is expected to be available by September this year.

Lead researcher of the Oxford project, Professor Sarah Gilbert, is "80%" confident of the success of the vaccine. The team also plans to produce one million doses of the vaccine by September. Five other scientist groups have reached human trial phase. These include:

  • China's CanSino Biological in partnership with the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. Their potential COVID-19 vaccine is the first and the one only to reach phase two trials, so far.
  • S. drug company Moderna: It is conducting the human trial of their vaccine, called mRNA-1273, along with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
  • US-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals: Its DNA vaccine candidate, named INO-4800, is being tested on humans. The vaccine works by injecting a specifically engineered plasmid (a small, independent genetic structure) into the body. This enables the cells to produce a desired, targeted antibody to fight off a specific infection.
  • Beijing-based unit of Nasdaq-listed Sinovac Biotech: Their potential vaccine candidate was recently approved for early-stage human tests.
  • Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group: The institute is also said to have begun early-stage human tests of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Indian companies working on COVID-19 vaccine

India is also not far behind in the race to make COVID-19 vaccine. Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has collaborated with US-based biotechnology firm Codagenix Inc to develop a COVID-19 vaccine candidate and they plan to begin clinical human trial of it by September-October. The drug is currently under in pre-clinical / animal testing phase. The vaccine candidate is expected be market-ready by early 2022.

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Meanwhile, the vaccine major has also said that it will start production of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University in the next two to three weeks. SII is one of the seven global institutions partnering with Oxford University to manufacture the vaccine. The company hopes to bring the Oxford vaccine to the market by September - October, if the trials are successful.

Besides Serum, fiver other Indian companies are working on vaccine for coronavirus. The names include:

  • Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadilla: It is known for having the one of the best vaccine development infrastructures in India. The company, in February, announced an accelerated research program to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.
  • Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin Madison and US-based firm FluGen to make COVID-19 vaccine for global distribution.
  • Hyderabad-based company Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) has partnered with Griffith University of Australia to conduct exploratory research to develop vaccine for coronavirus.
  • Hyderabad-based biopharma company Biological E Limited is also working on a vaccine candidate for COVID-19.
  • Bengaluru-based start-up Mynvax Private Limited is collaborating with the Indian Institute of Science's (IISc) to develop a vaccine.