Biological E's India-made vaccine is expected to have 90 per cent efficacy against Covid-19 and is expected to be a game changer in the war on the deadly pandemic, according to Dr NK Arora, chairperson of the Centre's Covid Working Group.
Dr Arora said that the vaccine is entering Phase 3 trials and is likely to be available by October. He pointed out that the vaccine being developed by Biological E. may hold huge potential since it may be sold at an incredibly low ₹ 250 for two doses.
He said Hyderabad-based Biological E's vaccine called Corbevax is similar to the US Novavax vaccine, which is more than 90 per cent effective including against the more aggressive Covid variants. The Pune-based Serum Institute of India also has an agreement with Novavax to produce the vaccine in India. by the which also makes Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield.
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"Novavax is very exciting. In the past week it has created a rage because India is going to manufacture almost a billion doses a year. It is going to be simple and cheaper with a 90 per cent vaccine effectiveness," Dr Arora told NDTV.
"A very similar Indian vaccine is also under phase 3 trial, which is the Bio E vaccine. These vaccines are exciting because we have previous experience on a similar platform. They are safe across age groups and have very high effectiveness," he said.
Dr Arora is also Chairperson of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) which guides the government on matters related to vaccination.
The other vaccines he said that would be produced soon were Zydus-Cadila's product and India's own messenger RNA-based Covid vaccine to be manufactured by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals.
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"The Indian mRNA vaccine is in phase 2. We will have it by September. It is more compatible with the Indian setting in storage, transport and shelf life." Biological E. will also produce the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine alongside its own candidate.
"The infrastructure and plants are completely separate for both the products and we will be producing both independent of each other," Biological E managing director Mahima Datla told journalists recently.
The J&J vaccine project also forms part of the Indo-Pacific Quad vaccine agreement which envisages using India’s manufacturing capacities to produce Covid vaccines with the financial backing of the US and Japan.
Dr Arora sees India bouncing back as a vaccine manufacturer for the world. “I believe there is a strong chance that the world will ultimately depend on India for affordable and effective vaccines against COVID-19,” he observed.
"I'm aware that everybody is looking forward to India. Because most of the poor countries and low-income countries have no source. Today it is easier to buy weapons than to buy vaccines," he quipped.
