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Serum Institute of India (SII) has begun clinical trials for a second covid-19 vaccine—‘Covovax’.
At the moment, SII’s Covishield has been granted emergency use authorisation in India and it is one of the two vaccines being used in the country’s coronavirus vaccination drive. Apart from Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is also being used in India.
Adar Poonawalla, SII CEO, on Saturday said that the company hopes to launch Covovax by September.
In August 2020, American vaccine company Novavax, Inc had announced a licence agreement with SII for the development and commercialisation of NVX-CoV2373, its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, in low and middle-income countries and India.
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"Covovax trials finally begin in India; the vaccine is made through a partnership with @Novavax and @SerumInstIndia. It has been tested against African and UK variants of #COVID19 and has an overall efficacy of 89%. Hope to launch by September 2021!," Poonawalla said in a tweet.
The announcement comes just days before India embarks on its next phase of covid-19 vaccination. Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday had announced that all those who are above 45 years will be able to avail the covid jabs from April 1.
(With PTI inputs)
