Last Updated : Jul 03, 2020 05:58 PM IST | Source: Firstpost.com
COVID-19 vaccine | Passed mandated protocols, animal testing and now in clinical development stage: Bharat Biotech's Dr Krishna Ella
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which is one of seven Indian companies involved in the indigenous production of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, received the green signal from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to begin human trials of 'Covaxin' last week.
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Bharat Biotech chairman and managing director Dr Krishna Ella on July 3 said that the company, which is the first Indian firm to have received approval to begin human trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, had developed the first version of the vaccine within 40 days, after which the pre-clinical trials began.
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, which is one of seven Indian companies involved in the indigenous production of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, received the green signal from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to begin human trials of 'Covaxin' last week.
Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of Covaxin in COVID-19 patients will begin this month. The vaccine candidate was developed in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
The ICMR has selected 12 institutes across the country to carry out clinical trials of Covaxin and on July 3, urged the chosen clinical trial sites to expedite approvals and complete recruiting for the trails by July 7, as per an internal letter from ICMR to the institutions.
The letter also reportedly said that Covaxin should be "launched for public use" by August 15, however, Bharat Biotech spokespersons refused to comment on the statement.
The letter by ICMR director general Balram Bhargava read, "It is envisaged to launch the vaccine for public health use latest by 15th August 2020 after completion of all clinical trials. BBIL (Bharat Biotech International Limited) is working expeditiously to meet the target, however, final outcome will depend on the cooperation of all clinical trial sites involved in this project."
Covaxin has been expedited through national regulatory protocols, and subjected to "comprehensive pre-clinical studies" according to the company, which reports that the results are "promising" and "show extensive safety and effective immune responses".

Last Updated : Jul 03, 2020 06:51 PM IST | Source: PTI
India extends ban on international flights till July 31
Aviation regulator DGCA said some International flights may, however, be allowed on select routes
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aviation regulator DGCA on July 3 extended the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights in the country till July 31 but said some international scheduled services on select routes may be permitted.
Scheduled international passenger flights were suspended in India on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Modifying its June 26 circular that stated that scheduled international passenger flights will remain suspended till July 15, 2020, the regulator stated on Friday it has decided to extend the deadline to July 31, 2020
However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case to case basis," said the circular by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Air India and other private domestic airlines have been operating unscheduled international repatriation flights under the Vande Bharat Mission, which was started on May 6 by the Central government.
India resumed scheduled domestic passenger flights on May 25, after a gap of two months.