Agencies

According to a report, the Pune-based vaccine maker plans to manufacture two-three million doses of vaccine by end-August. Earlier this week, preliminary results of the phase1/2 trial published in the medical journal showing Oxford COVID-19 vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 induces strong immune responses with no early safety concerns.

The researchers reported that the vaccine triggered a T-cell response within 14 days of vaccination and an antibody response within 28 days. T cells are white blood cells that can attack cells infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 disease.

The Oxford vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 virus is backed by British biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which has signed an agreement with SII for 1 billion doses of the vaccine. Under the deal, SII will extensively manufacture the Oxford vaccine for India and Gavi countries.

Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director of SII revealed that the company hopes to manufacture two-three million doses of the vaccine by the end of August, reported The Hindu. Mr Jadhav said that SII will start manufacturing the vaccine of such quantities ensuring that it meets the requirements of a commercial scale-batch for phase 3 trial.

�Based on the safety and immunogenicity data of the phase-3 trial carried out in India, we will trigger the production of the vaccines even before the results are formally available, he was quoted as saying by the report. Mr Jadhav also added that the phase 3 trial might take up to four months to complete the study.

The CEO of SII, Adar Poonawalla, had said that around 4,000-5,000 people in Pune and Mumbai will be injected with the vaccine by end of August as part of phase 3 trials scheduled to last over two months in cities with many hotspots. The trials will assess the efficacy of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine dubbed Covishield in India. The phase 3 trials have already begun in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

Poonawalla had also said that the company aims to manufacture 300-400 million doses of the vaccine by the year-end, following the success of initial and licensure trials. If all goes as planned, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 will cost less than Rs 1,000 per dose in India.

The report added that Serum Institute is also in talks with other developers and may take up additional manufacturing of coronavirus vaccines developed by other institutes, apart from the vaccine created by Oxford University.