Zydus Cadila’s needle-free vaccine gets nod, 1st jab for kids in India

With Zydus Cadila receiving approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on Friday, the Ahmedabad-based pharma company’s wait for a regulatory nod for its ZyCoV-D plasmid DNA vaccine against Covid-19 is finally over.

According to a press release of the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology, “The Zydus Cadila has received approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D today i.e 20/08/2021, the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for Covid-19 to be administered in humans including adults and children 12 years and above.”

“The vaccine is developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India under the ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ and implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), ZyCoV-D has been supported under Covid-19 Research Consortia through National Biopharma Mission for pre-clinical studies, Phase I and Phase II clinical trials and under the ‘Mission Covid Suraksha’ and implemented by BIRAC. ZyCoV-D has been supported under Covid-19 Research Consortia through National Biopharma Mission for preclinical studies, Phase I and Phase II clinical trials and under the Mission Covid Suraksha for Phase III clinical trial,” it said.

“This three-dose vaccine which when injected produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response, which plays a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance. The plug-and-play technology on which the plasmid DNA platform is based can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring,” the statement says.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had said in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session: “The government expects that in October-November, four more Indian pharmaceutical companies will start production of indigenous vaccines that will help to meet the domestic demand. Biological E and Novartis vaccines will also be available in the market in the coming days, while Zydus Cadila will soon get an emergency use nod from Expert Committee.”

Meanwhile, with 36,571 Covid-19 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India’s active tally has dropped to 363,605, which is the lowest in 150 days. With this, India’s cumulative count has reached 32,358,829 and the country’s active cases account for 1.12 per cent of the total cases, the lowest since March 2020.

WITH ANI INPUTS