Pfizer India has become the first pharmaceutical firm in the country to seek emergency authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine, after its parent company secured similar clearance in the UK and Bahrain.
The firm, in its application submitted to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has sought permission to import the vaccine for sale and distribution in the country, besides waiver of clinical trials on Indian population in accordance with the special provisions under the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, official sources said.
"Pfizer India submitted an application on December 4 to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorization (EUA) for its Covid-19 vaccine in India," a source said. "The firm has submitted the EUA application in Form CT-18 for grant of permission to import and market Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 in the country," the source added, citing the application.
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The UK on Wednesday became the first country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with the UK regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granting a temporary authorisation for its emergency use. The British regulator said the jab, which claims to offer up to 95 per cent protection against Covid-19, is safe for roll-out.
Bahrain on Friday also announced that it has granted an EUA for the two-dose vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. The pharma company has already applied to the US FDA seeking EUA for the vaccine.
The extreme low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius required for storing the vaccine poses a big challenge for its delivery in a country like India, especially in smaller towns and rural areas where maintaining such cold chain facilities would be very difficult, top government officials said.
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When contacted, Pfizer said it remains committed to engaging with the Indian government to explore opportunities to make this vaccine available for use in the country. "During this pandemic phase, Pfizer will supply this vaccine only through government contracts based on agreements with respective government authorities and following regulatory authorisation or approval," the global pharma major said in a statement.
Five vaccines are in advanced phases of clinical trials in India with the Serum Institute of India conducting phase-3 trials of the Oxford-Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccine, while the indigenously developed vaccine by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR) has also started the phase-3 clinical trial.
Drug firm Zydus Cadila has also received approval from the DCGI to start phase-3 clinical trials for its vaccine candidate.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have announced that they commenced adaptive phase 2 and 3 clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V in India. Also, Biological E. Ltd has started early phase 1 and 2 human trials of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.
