Bharat Biotech expects COVID-19 vaccine to be atleast 60% effective, launch likely in Q2 of 2021

One of the top contenders in the race to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine, Bharat Biotech International Ltd has stated that they expected the shots of its Covaxin vaccine to be 60% effective.

“The WHO, US FDA [Food and Drug Administration] and even India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) approve a respiratory vaccine if it achieves 50 percent efficacy. For Covaxin, we aim to achieve at least 60 percent but, it could also be more,” Sai D Prasad, President, Quality Operations at Bharat Biotech, told in an exclusive interview to India Today TV.

The company further stated that they will launch the vaccine in Q2 of 2021. 

Covaxin is being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology (NIV).   

Bharat Biotech launched its third phase trials of Covaxin in Haryana on November 20.

The vaccine maker had applied to the DGCI on October 2 and sought its permission for the Phase 3 trials.

The recommendation was given by the panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) after assessing the data of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials as well as animal challenge study. 

Currently, five vaccine candidates are currently undergoing clinical trials in India. These include vaccines developed by Oxford University – AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Cadila, Biological E – Baylor College of Medicine and Gamaleya Research Institute, Moscow.

Meanwhile, final results from Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine trial showed its shot had a 95 per cent success rate and two months of safety data, paving the way for the drugmaker to apply for an emergency US authorization within days, it said on Wednesday.

The vaccine’s efficacy rate, the highest of any candidate in late-stage clinical trials so far, was welcomed by experts who had already said that interim results showing Pfizer’s shot was over 90 per cent effective were very encouraging.