Human Trials Of COVAXIN Started At AIIMS Patna By Bharat Biotech
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, has begun the human trial of India’s first indigenous vaccine against the novel coronavirus, the COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad-based pharma company in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research. COVAXIN is developed from a novel coronavirus strain isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
AIIMS-Patna has begun the clinical trials for COVAXIN on the 10 volunteers chosen by the hospital authority for the trial. The first dose of the vaccine has been already administered to the volunteers, reported AIR. After an interval of 14 days, the volunteers will be given the second dose.
The participants will be checked for any after-effects of the vaccine once the scheduled period is completed. ICMR selected 12 sites for the clinical trials of the candidate vaccine, and AIIMS-Patna is one among them. Dr. CM Singh, Superintendant of AIIMS-Patna, said earlier that only healthy people aged between 22-50 years, irrespective of gender, would be chosen for the human trials of COVAXIN.
Previously, Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech, had told the media that he believes the experimental vaccine would work against the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Bharat Biotech would be working to produce 200 million vials of the vaccine initially. The vaccine COVAXIN is being developed at the BSL-3 High Containment facility of Bharat Biotech in Genome Valley, Hyderabad. The vaccine has already demonstrated effective and safe immune responses in animal studies.
COVAXIN is the first indigenous coronavirus vaccine developed in India. Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)- the Drug Controller General of India approved the vaccine for human trials on June end when Bharat Biotech submitted the data from preclinical studies showing its efficacy and safety.
Earlier this month, ICMR had announced that the vaccine would be launched by August 15 this year. This had baffled health experts and researchers. Now the human trials of COVAXIN have started at AIIMS, Patna.
