Single dose Bharat Biotech intranasal vaccine in advanced stages of clinical trials: DBT Secretary

DNA vaccine candidate by Zydus Cadila, protein subunit vaccine candidate by BioE, mRNA vaccine candidate by Gennova, and single dose intranasal vaccine candidate by Bharat Biotech are in advanced stages of clinical trials, said Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup on April 21.

Efforts are being ramped up for massive production of COVID-19 vaccines and make them available in the shortest possible time, the DBT Secretary said, stressing that India currently has a promising pipeline of four-five vaccine candidates, while three have already been approved for emergency use.

"There are three vaccines in India, which have been approved for Emergency Use Authorisation - ‘Covishield' by Serum Institute of India (SII), ‘Covaxin' by Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) and the Russian vaccine, ‘Sputnik-V'. Besides these, there is a promising pipeline of four-five candidates in advanced clinical stages of development," said Swarup


The Centre has provided Rs 1,500 crore to Bharat Biotech for commercial production of Covaxin.

Incidentally, the firm has also written to the India's drug regulator seeking extension of the shelf-life of its indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin from six to 24 months.

(With inputs from PTI)