Bharat Biotech's Phase I result shows coronavirus vaccine safe

Published On: December 17, 2020 09:20 AM NPT By: Reuters

A man rides his motorbike past a parked bus of India's biotechnology company Bharat Biotech outside its office in Hyderabad, India July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

MUMBAI, Dec 17: An Indian government-backed COVID-19 vaccine showed it was safe and triggered immune responses during an ongoing early-stage trial, the company involved in the study said in a statement on Wednesday.

Bharat Biotech, the private company developing COVAXIN with the government-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said: “COVAXIN demonstrated acceptable safety profile and high immune response. . . No serious (grade 3-4) adverse events were reported.”

Phase II and Phase III clinical trials are underway.

The company earlier this month sought emergency-use authorization from the Indian drug regulator for its COVID-19 vaccine to help achieve its plan to launch COVAXIN by the second quarter of 2021.

India has the world’s second highest caseload of coronavirus behind the United States, and it is looking to deploy its vast election machinery to deliver 600 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable people in the next six to eight months.