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Merge 104.8 | 19 July 2020
Two different Indian candidates for a COVID-19 vaccine have received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to begin early phase human trials after both “underwent successful toxicity studies in rats, mice, and rabbits,” India’s Financial Express reports.
Covaxin, developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Bharat Biotech, and the National Institute of Virology began Phase 1 clinical trials in 375 volunteers on July 15 in a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial, while ZydusCadila Healthcare Ltd.’s PegiHepTM vaccine has also begun Phase 1 clinical trials with an “open-label, randomized, comparator-controlled study…to evaluate safety, efficacy and tolerability in patients with COVID-19,” as per the Financial Express.
ZydusCadila has also had its PegiHepTM vaccine candidate approved for human trials in Mexico from the country’s Cofepris regulatory authority.
Globally, three vaccine candidates have shown promising results in human trials — UK Oxford AstraZeneca, whose vaccine prototype has entered Phase 3 of human trials and has shown to “successfully produce both antibodies and ‘killer T-cells’ in the receiver’s body,” reports the Financial Express.
Russia also anticipates that it will complete clinical trials on its vaccine prototype by the end of July, according to its Defence Ministry, which stated that all participants who took part in the trials did not have any adverse side effects to the vaccine. As per the Financial Express, a report by Reuters indicates that Russian authorities have stated that the country plans to produce 30 million doses domestically, along with another potential 170 million overseas.
Finally, US firm Moderna’s vaccine candidate mRNA-1273, produced in partnership with Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, is set to begin Phase 3 of its clinical trials on July 27.
There are currently 140 potential vaccines against coronavirus in development worldwide according to the World Health Organization, with 23 reaching the phase of human trials.
Source: Financial Express
(Also read: Curfew, stricter fines most notable suggestions to combat COVID-19: Survey.)
