Covidshield has shown promising results during trials, but a lot depends on the approvals coming through from the Drugs Controller General Of India.
With India working on multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that Covidshield, a vaccine candidate that has shown promising results during trials, may be ready by the end of this year.
However, he told News18 that "a lot is subject to data from the UK and also a lot depends on the approvals coming through from the Drugs Controller General Of India".
This means that the firm intends to apply for emergency authorization if the data from trials show promising results.
Centre has already indicated that it is likely to authorize emergency use of a vaccine if the need arises.
Earlier this week, British drugmaker AstraZeneca, which is developing a vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford, said that its candidate produces a similar immune response in both older and younger adults, and adverse responses were lower among the elderly.
A vaccine that works is seen as a game-changer in the battle against the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 1.15 million people, hammered the global economy and shuttered normal life across the world.
Meanwhile, drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd on Wednesday rolled out a preliminary timeline for the India trials of Russian coronavirus vaccine candidate, with the late-stage expected to be completed by as early as March 2021.
Chief Executive Officer Erez Israeli said enrolment to the mid-stage trial of the Sputnik-V vaccine will start in the next few weeks and the trial was likely to end by December.
With 8 million COVID-19 infections and second only to the United States, India is pinning its hopes on a vaccine to stem the spread of the pandemic.
The ongoing festive season and a state assembly election are seen by healthcare experts as adding to the challenges in containing the outbreak.
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