In a big boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat, India’s first COVID-19 vaccine – COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV), gets nod from Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for phase I and II human clinical trials, CNN news18 reported.
These trials are scheduled to start across the country in July. The vaccine will be developed using the virus strain isolated at the ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
“Work on vaccine development has been initiated between the two partners. The ICMR-NIV will provide continuous support to BBIL for vaccine development. ICMR and BBIL will seek fast-track approvals to expedite vaccine development, subsequent animal studies and clinical evaluation of the candidate vaccine,” the health research body earlier said.
Several drugs have been tested for their effectiveness against COVID-19, the disease resulting from coronavirus, but they have fallen short. Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir has been found to be effective in reducing the time spent in hospital by infected patients, but a cure is yet to find.
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